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 ("Vin de table") classification, but below the "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC) and VDQS classifications. Legislation on the "Vin de pays" terminology was passed in 1979, allowing producers to distinguish wines that were made using grape varieties or procedures other than those required by the AOC rules, without having to use the simple and commercially non-viable table wine classification. Unlike table wines, which are only indicated as being from France, "Vin de pays" carries a geographic designation of origin, the producers have to submit the wine for analysis and tasting, and the wines have to be made from certain varieties or blends. Regulations regarding varieties and labelling practices are typically more lenient than the regulations for AOC wines.

Taxonomy

There are three tiers of Vin de Pays; "regional", "departmental" and "local".

There are six regional Vin de Pays, which cover large areas of France. The most voluminous contributor to this category of wines is Vin de Pays d'Oc, from the Languedoc-Roussillon area in Mediterranean France. The second largest volume of Vin de Pays wines is produced as Vin de Pays du Jardin de France, a designation that applies to wines from the whole Loire Valley. The other ones are :Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan (south-west), Vin de Pays de Méditerranée(south-east, Provence and Corsica), Vin de Pays des Comtés Rhodaniens(Rhone valley) and Vin de Pays de l'Atlantique(Bordeaux and Charentes(Cognac)).

Each regional Vin de Pays is divided into several departmental Vins de Pays. There are about 50 of these, the names being derivative of the French departments in question and the limits exactly the same than the department's borders. For example, Vin de Pays du Gard is one of the Vins de Pays produced within Vins de Pays d'Oc using grapes from the Gard department and the Vin de Pays de Charente-maritime is produced in the Cognac area. Approximately one third of the French departments don't produce Vin de Pays, for example Côte d'Or in Burgundy and Gironde in Bordeaux or because the climate is not suited to produce wine at all, like the Bretagne, Normandy and Nord-Pas de Calais regions.

The smallest subdivision still is the local Vin de Pays, which has very precise geographical specifications. There are about 100 of these local Vins de Pays, mostly in the Languedoc region, making them hard to recognize outside the region where they are produced and bear almost unpronouncable names such as Vin de Pays du Val de Dagne, Vin de Pays du Duché d'Uzès or Vin de Pays des Côtes de Montestruc. For a detailed map of all the Vin de Pays: go on this site through "Catégories de vin" and "Vin de Pays"

www.onivins.fr

Production rules

The conditions to respect to be allowed to use the classification "Vin de pays" are the following:

* The yield must be less less than 90 hectoliter per hectare for white wines, and less than 85 hl for red and rosé wines.

* Only wine producers with a total yield of less than 100 hl/ha can qualify.

* The minimum alcoholic strength depends on the region and is 10% in "Le Midi", 9.5% in "South-west" area and the "Centre East" area, and 9% for the "Loire Valley" and the "East" area.

* The allowed amount of sulfur dioxide allowed in the wines are 125 mg/l for red wines and 150 mg/l for white and rosé wines. For wines with sugar content of at least 5 g/l, the quantity of sulfur dioxide is slightly higher: 150 mg/l for red wines and 175 mg/l for white and rosé wines.

* The acidity in terms of pH values are also regulated, with some Vin de Pays areas having stricter rules than other.

* The wines must be kept and produced separately from other wines (e.g., production for table wines) and are subject to quality monitoring by an official regional committe.

Economic effects

In terms of volume, Vins de Pays d'Oc and Vins de Pays du Jardin de France are responsible for the majority of French exports.

Originally, Vin de Pays designation was commonly viewed as inferior to an AOC Appellation, often being ascribed to thin and simple wines. However, since the late 1980s, an increase in demand for varietal wines has led some French producers and cooperatives to produce more Vin de Pays, especially Vin de Pays d'Oc, to make varietal wines with some form of designation, while turning away from the highly restrictive AOC classification which often requires very specific blends of grape varieties.

This can be seen as a response to the increasing sales success of varietal New World wines from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, South Africa and Chile. As well as varietal wines (such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot), Vin de Pays is being used to produce non-traditional blends which do not meet the requirements of AOC or VDQS regulations. Some of these wines are much better, and command higher prices, than AOC or VDQS wines from the same region or, even, the same winemakers.

ee also

*Indicazione Geografica Tipica, the rough equivalent in Italy

Vino de la Tierra, the equivalent in Spain,
Vinho Regional, the equivalent in Portugal and
Landwein, the equivalent in Germany

External links

* [http://www.vins-de-pays.info The official Vins de Pays home page]
* [http://www.morethanorganic.com/aoc-classifications AOC Classifications] at [http://www.morethanorganic.com/ morethanorganic.com]