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Some French AOC Wines a Sham?
Posted by perle0 on 2007-09-07 16:11:56
(5727 views) 
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[News]
[France] |
 According to a French consumer group, roughly one in three of all wines marketed under France's regional appellation system do not deserve it. In France's wine classification system, wines from some 470 regions are recognised as an "appellation d'origine controlee" (AOC).
These appellations are supposed to ensure that regional wines follow strict standards, such as using grapes from specific areas or only using specific grape varieties. The AOCs are intended to be marks of quality and traditional wine-making. |
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However, according to France's UFC-Que Choisir consumer rights group, a full 99% of all wines submitted for acceptance as an AOC wine were approved. Is this because the vintners are careful only to submit qualifying wines...or do the award panels, made up of local wine professionals, favor winemakers over wine standards?
This consumer group maintains that low-quality wines, or wines that may not actually come from the terroir they're supposed to, are infiltrating the system and making the AOC classification system worthless as a mark of quality regional wines. |
Details. |
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