France - General

Question 1

Which official body shaped the French wine industry in the 20th century, and what did it oversee?

Answer 1

INAO (founded in 1935), originally Institut National des Appelations d’Origine, now called Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité.

It oversaw the creation of the AOC system, and from 2009 the creation of IGP wines

Question 2

What do AOCs embed?

Answer 2

A commitment to geographically defined appellations that include detailed rules about methods of production (varieties, planting density, training systems, max yields, minimum alcohol levels, length of maturation, earliest date the wine can be sold)

All based on the idea of terroir.

Question 3

What global commercial success caused France to change their labelling laws?

Answer 3

Varietally labelled wines from the new world resulted in France, from 2009, allowing the name of variety to appear on the label alongside the name of the appellation (eg Bourgogne AOC Chardonnay)

In addition, wine without a GI can carry the name of the variety/varieties and the vintage.