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The
Appellation System in France
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After
a series of devastating plant diseases and insect problems (mostly
Phylloxera)
in the late 1800's, the French vineyard owners were replanting
vineyards and rebuilding their business in the early 1900's.
The shortage of wine at the time created tempting conditions for
fraud. Much money could be made by bringing in wine from
other areas and claiming it was from a premium region like
Burgundy or areas of the Rhone.
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By the
early 1920's, there was a movement to create laws to protect consumers
and to guarantee the quality of wines from certain areas.
Chateauneuf du Pape in the Rhone river valley was the first to
create a set of rules among growers in the region.
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The rules
set up by the growers defined the area that could produce Chateauneuf
du Pape. They also listed certain approved grapes for the
region and how those grapes could be grown, harvested. The
maximum yield per hectare, the minimum alcohol level and the official
sorting of grapes at harvest were all laid out in these rules.
The agreement in Chateauneuf du Pape became became the framework
that the Appellation Controlee laws that were created later.
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By 1936-1937,
the National Institute for Appellations of Origin (INAO) was created
and had enacted rules controlling the grape growing and wine production
for all the key wine regions in France.
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The Appellation
Controlee laws defined the following standards for each production
area:
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Geographic
limits of the production area.
Density
of planting
Pruning
style and standards.
Yields
per hectare
Mandatory
tasting by a certification panel.
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Allowed
grape varieties.
Trellis
systems
Wine making
techniques
Lab analysis
standards
Vineyard
practices.
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The system
has worked well in its guaranteeing quality of the wines in spite
of the paper monster it has created. It became the model
for most other countries that have regulated their wine industry.
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