Vin de France has the most liberal regulations and, in particular, would sanction her
delicious 100% varietal bottlings of Grenache Gris, Carignan Gris and Carignan Noir
(outlawed by the local AOC and IGP regulations). Furthermore, ' Cotisations are 100 euros
for up to 500 hl compared with well over a 1,300 euros for the same quantity of an AOC
wine such as Fitou. To be awarded appellation status you also have a one-off audit on your
vineyards by a third party to check that you have the correct grape varieties and in the right
proportions for another 250 euros. And, with Vin de France, you do not have to wait for
wines to be tasted before bottling and selling them, as you do with, for example, IGP Côtes
Catalanes, while AOC Fitou take a representative sample from each blend after bottling.
The simpler the better!' Her wines are sold by The Wine Society, Naked Wines, Majestic and
via www.domainejones.com.
The disadvantage of Vin de France is that some knowledge or research is needed on the
part of the consumer to work out where exactly the wines are grown. Producers may put
their address on the back label, but if that address includes the protected wine name (an
appellation in old parlance), the letters have to be quite small.
I am already seeing an increase in Vin de France listings on smart restaurant wine lists,
especially in France of course. But while cavistes can guide us by putting their Vins de
France with other wines made in the same part of France, on lists they have to occupy their
own rather anonymous section.