The new brand: France

Vin de Pays will no longer exist as I explained in my last blog, and nor will Vin de Table.

The classification will be no sad loss. Its wines have been poo-poohed by producers and consumers in the past. They have an image of low quality, mass-produced wine (although some fabulous VdT wines from Les Caves de Pyrene prove it ain’t necessarily so).

Vin de Table will now become Vin de France (or equivalent depending on where you make your wine) and for the first time ever the label will be able to state the vintage and grape variety on the label.

This move is a massive boost for major volume producers in the Languedoc and the rest of Europe. Big companies will now be able to make their wines relatively free of constraints and produce commercial wines under a new classification that is simple to understand for the international market. With grape varieties almost becoming brands in their own right, the ability to write Merlot or Chardonnay will also help Europe compete with the New World on foreign markets.

While this is opportunity that will benefit the big operations – think Les Grands Chais de France, Gerard Bertrand etc – smaller producers are also eyeing up the prospect of declassifying from their current Vin de Pays status to Vin de France. Why? Well, what’s the point in becoming an IGP, and having to jump through bureaucratic hoops if you can now put the grape variety and vintage on the label?

Marc Parce, winemaker at La Rectorie, a relatively small producer in Banyuls is attracted by the prospect of Vin de France: “Why would we mess around with the rules under IGP when you can make wines with the grape variety on with Vin de France? I won’t be able to resist using it,” he said. 

However fellow member of Terroiristes du Midi group, Pierre Colbert of Chateau Flaugergues doesn’t share Parce’s view. “If you are a small producer you are not going to use this wide-ranging Vin de France classification. I think people think that this change is a good thing for the big negociants for them to do their blends. Smaller producers will use a more specific, smaller designation.”

Will consumers respect the Vin de France designation? They probably don’t care. Let’s face it the AOC system is no guarantee of quality.