Vin de France
Encyclopedia
Vin de France is a designation for table wine
from France
that has been in use since 2010, when it started to replace the former Vin de Table category. Vins de France may indicate grape variety (for example Chardonnay
or Merlot
) and vintage
on the label, but are not labelled by region or appellation
, only as coming from France. This means that the wines are typically sold under brand
names or as branded varietal wines.
, Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS), Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
(AOC) - and will be fully introduced by 2012.
s and many other European wines in a similar price range. Simple varietal French wines instead had to use the Vin de Pays
("country wine") designation, which restricts the sourcing of grapes to the defined Vin de Pays regions, such as Vin de Pays d'Oc from Languedoc-Roussillon. No French wine category existed that allowed a producer to source grapes from e.g. Languedoc-Roussillon, Rhône and Provence
, but still sell the wine under a varietal designation.
As a result of the on-going crisis in the French wine industry, Bernard Pomel was tasked with making proposals on how to remedy the situation. The so-called Pomel report, which was presented to the French minister of agriculture on March 23, 2006 among other things proposed a simplification of the French wine classification, including the elimination the VDQS category, which was decided in December 2007. At the same time, the European Union
was considering reforms to the wine sector, aiming at reducing the need for subsidies. This also implied reforms of the European Union wine regulations
, which went into effect on August 1, 2009. The reform included some liberalisation of the regulations surrounding the EU Table Wine category. Following that reform, France in 2009 decided to introduce the Vin de France category as a replacement for Vin de Table. The introduction of the category took place in 2010.
Table wine
Table wine is a wine term with two different meanings: a wine style; and a quality level within wine classification.In the United States, table wine primarily designates a wine style - ordinary wine which is neither fortified nor sparkling....
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
that has been in use since 2010, when it started to replace the former Vin de Table category. Vins de France may indicate grape variety (for example Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
or Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
) and vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
on the label, but are not labelled by region or appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
, only as coming from France. This means that the wines are typically sold under brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
names or as branded varietal wines.
Position in the wine classification of France
Vin de France is the lowest level of three in the overhauled wine classification system of France, under the intermediate category Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) and the highest category Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP). Unlike Vin de France, IGP and AOP wines indicate the wine's geographical origin within France. This system of three levels replaces the former system of four levels - Vin de Table, Vin de PaysVin de pays
Vin de pays is a French term meaning "country wine". Vins de pays are a step in the French wine classification which is above the table wine classification, but below the VDQS and Appellation d'origine contrôlée classifications...
, Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS), Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
(AOC) - and will be fully introduced by 2012.
Background
The former Vin de Table category, that represented the simplest wines produced in France, has suffered from decreasing sales for several decades. These were simple wines for everyday drinking that were mainly produced in the south of France. This category of wines have been very difficult to export in an increasingly competitive global wine market, especially since they were not allowed to carry a varietal designation or indicate vintage. This meant a distinct competitive disadvantage to New World wineNew World wine
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.-Early wines in the Americas:...
s and many other European wines in a similar price range. Simple varietal French wines instead had to use the Vin de Pays
Vin de pays
Vin de pays is a French term meaning "country wine". Vins de pays are a step in the French wine classification which is above the table wine classification, but below the VDQS and Appellation d'origine contrôlée classifications...
("country wine") designation, which restricts the sourcing of grapes to the defined Vin de Pays regions, such as Vin de Pays d'Oc from Languedoc-Roussillon. No French wine category existed that allowed a producer to source grapes from e.g. Languedoc-Roussillon, Rhône and Provence
Provence wine
Provence wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area nostra provincia , giving the region its name...
, but still sell the wine under a varietal designation.
As a result of the on-going crisis in the French wine industry, Bernard Pomel was tasked with making proposals on how to remedy the situation. The so-called Pomel report, which was presented to the French minister of agriculture on March 23, 2006 among other things proposed a simplification of the French wine classification, including the elimination the VDQS category, which was decided in December 2007. At the same time, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
was considering reforms to the wine sector, aiming at reducing the need for subsidies. This also implied reforms of the European Union wine regulations
European Union wine regulations
European Union wine regulations are common legislation related to wine existing within the European Union , the member states of which account for almost two-thirds of the world's wine production...
, which went into effect on August 1, 2009. The reform included some liberalisation of the regulations surrounding the EU Table Wine category. Following that reform, France in 2009 decided to introduce the Vin de France category as a replacement for Vin de Table. The introduction of the category took place in 2010.
Reception
When the category was introduced, some commentators expected many French producers may start using the Vin de France category instead of categories with geographical indications, in particular the IGP (former Vin de Pays) category. Some saw the Vin de France category as more adapted to the needs of large wine companies rather than small producers.External links
- ANIVIN de France, the trade organisation for Vin de France