December 05, 2024 - 0 comments
Why is my natural wine labeled "Vin de France"?
Well, to understand this, let’s first look at the main French certification known as AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée). This system was put in place in 1935 to protect the reputation of the wine growing regions and a way to regulate production.
In France, the certification of a wine as Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) is decided by the Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité (INAO). The INAO is a government organization under the Ministry of Agriculture. There are currently 363 different wine related AOC’s in France.
Producers from a region develop strict production guidelines for the wines, including grape varieties, vineyard location, farming practices, winemaking methods, and their idea of final quality standards.
Wineries must then submit their wines to tasting panels and technical analyses to verify they meet the AOC standards. As you can imagine the ones tasting are often the ones already making AOC wines, so if your wine doesn’t taste or look like theirs (as most natural wines don’t), you are unlikely to get the AOC certification.
So then what is "Vin de France"?
Vin de France is a designation that was created in 2009 to replace the older Vin de Table (table wine) category. Unlike the rigid AOC system, Vin de France offers far more leeway, enabling winemakers to blend grapes from anywhere in France and experiment with grape varieties or techniques not allowed in AOC rules.
This is, of course, necessary for natural winemakers who aim at minimal intervention and experimental ways. Most of the natural wines would not fit into the AOC rules as they are produced with unconventional practices: fermentation with wild yeasts, no filtration, or with grape varieties not as common or hybrids.
At the same time, while Vin de France allows for creativity and innovation, it lacks the prestige the AOC labels have. Some consumers still associate it exclusively with low-quality wines, a holdover from its Vin de Table days.
In fact low quality supermarket wines and natural wines both end up falling under the ‘Vin de France’ label. Making things even more confusing. Natural Wines do also sometimes get AOC status, depending on the region. So sadly, non of these labels really guarantee the quality of the winemaking, you’re safer speaking with a wine shop owner, sommelier, or of course checking the Raisin app and website.
One last thing, what’s the difference between AOC and AOP?
AOC is specific to France, whereas AOP applies EU-wide and was introduced by the European Union in 1992. Since 2012, French wines previously labeled AOC are now also labeled AOP under EU regulations. However, many producers still use the term AOC on labels for tradition and recognition by consumers.
We hope that helped clear some things up.
Cheers!
