Wine Laws Flashcards
Organization of Wine and Vine (OIV) defines wine as what?
“The beverage resulting exclusively from the partial or complete alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether crushed or not, or of grape must,” and stipulates a minimum actual alcohol content of 8.5%
In the US still wine is divided into two legal categories, what are they and what was is their range for ABV?
“Table wines” (7-14% abv) and “dessert wines” (over 14% to 24% abv). As dessert wines are taxed at a higher rate than table wines, these categories are essentially tax brackets, not declarations of style.
*Note: most wines classed as “dessert wines” in the US—i.e., any still wines over 14% abv—are generally dry in style. And many of those wines are above 15%.
What is one of the biggest disconnects between US and EU standards in definition of wine?
Between US and EU definitions of wine: the US allows for products from 15-24% abv to be labeled as wine; the EU does not. In 2006, the EU and US entered into a bilateral agreement on wine trade, which allowed US producers to export wines of over 15% to Europe. For the first time, the EU recognized these beverages as “wine.”
When did phylloxera first strike France?
1863 phylloxera struck France
Before France was struck by phylloxera, how significant was wine as a export?
On the eve of phylloxera’s first recorded appearance, wine accounted for approximately one-sixth of the French agricultural economy, and it was the second-most important export, behind textiles.
What France’s production level on wine between 1875 to 1889?
Phylloxera’s impact was catastrophic: the invasive species reduced France’s vineyard acreage by one-third from 1875 to 1889, and production declined by 73%.
With phylloxera devastating the production level of wine in France, what measures did France perform to fulfill the high demand?
Consumption, however, remained constant. Phylloxera therefore caused France to become a wine-importing country, and the country first looked to Spain and Italy to fill the gap. France dramatically increased tariffs on imported wines in the late 1880s, relying increasingly on its African colony of Algeria in the years to follow.
Phylloxera devastated the vineyards of France, but in the early 20th century the country was suddenly grappling with a new problem:________.
What is that?
oversupply
Did France ever produce wine from American Vinifera vines? If so, why?
Yes, between 1880 to 1920. Falling prices fed reliance on hybrids. Outside of the wealthier regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, cash-strapped vignerons continued to plant these “direct producers”—hybrids of American vine species or American and vinifera vines—which provided a cheaper solution to phylloxera than grafting. Hybrid grapes (Noah, Othello, Clinton, Baco, Couderc Noir, and others) were easier to grow, often more prolific, and required fewer applications of pesticides than vinifera varieties.
When and what measures did France propose on the American vitis vinifera
Series of laws passed from 1919 to 1935 limited their use and prohibited replanting. Six varieties, including Noah and Othello, were banned outright due to fears that the wines they produced contained toxic levels of methyl alcohol.
Even after heavy official restrictions hybrid grapevines still accounted for almost one-third of the entire French vineyard by the 1950s and produced almost half of France’s Vin de Table.
True or False
True
1889 France had passed the Griffe Law. What was the importance of this bill?
It defined wine as the product of the fermentation of fresh grapes and outlining acceptable winemaking practices and additives—sugar for chaptalization, fining agents, etc.
What happened in 1935 for France
1935 France established a national regulatory agency: the Comité National des Appellations d’Origine, a governmental branch charged with the creation and administration of appellations d’origine contrôlées (AOCs) for wine and spirits.
AOC
Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées
What was the first region to be involved with the Appellations d’Origine Controlees (AOC) system and when?
With Châteauneuf-du-Pape acting as a prototype and the 1927 law as a springboard, the first AOCs appeared in 1936 and 1937.
cahier des charges
A document that forms all the AOC regulations
How was the AOC systems viewed by other countries?
AOC provided the most coherent national model linking product and place to date. As such, it became a model for other national systems in Europe and eventually for the entire EU. Its single regulatory agency, the Comité National des Appellations d’Origine, became an institut in 1947, giving the organization its modern acronym: INAO.
INAO
International National des Appellations d’Origine
What is Vin Delimite de Qualite Superieure (VDQS) catergory.
In 1949 the INAO introduced the Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) category. Considered a steppingstone to AOC status, VDQS appellations also limited yields, varieties, and methods of viticulture and vinification.
Is the VDQS system still around in France
No. Most were located in Loire Valley or Southwest France. By the mid-2000s, the category only comprised about 1% of all French wines, and it was phased out entirely in 2011.
What are Vin de Pays and when were they formed?
In 1979, France formally created a less restrictive category for table wines with geographic origin: Vin de Pays, the “country wines.” These range greatly in size; regional Vin de Pays areas cover broad expanses and multiple départements, departmental areas corresponded to single départements, and zonal areas can be similar to mid-sized AOCs, covering a single winegrowing zone.
What department oversees the Vin de Pays?
INAO
How many Vin de Pays regions are there in France?
At one point, there were over 150 Vin de Pays regions in France; modern consolidation in the post-CMO reform era reduced the number of these to 74 by 2014.
encépagement
encépagement refers to grape varieties in the vineyard
assemblage
assemblage refers to the composition of the final wine
Statut de la Viticulture bill
Designed to address the problem of oversupply and stabilize the flooded wine market. This body of decrees, issued from 1931-1935, prohibited new plantings throughout France’s major wine-growing départements and levied new taxes on excess production and high-yielding vineyards.
What system did Italy create that replicated the AOC system and when was it created?
In 1963 Italy passed Law 930 and debuted its Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) system, modeled closely on the French AOC.
DOC stands for
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
