Vin de pays is a French term meaning "country wine". French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people 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. Appellation d’origine contrôlée ( AOC) which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure ("Delimited Wine of Superior Quality" usually abbreviated as VDQS, is the second highest category of French wine, 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. See also Variety (botany A "plant variety " is a Legal term, following the UPOV Convention Regulations regarding varieties and labelling practices are typically more lenient than the regulations for AOC wines.
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Taxonomy
There are three tiers of Vin de Pays; regional, departmental and local.
There are four 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. Languedoc wine, including the Vin de pays labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc, is produced in southern France. Languedoc-Roussillon ( Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon; Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is one of the 26 regions of 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 Loire Valley wine region includes the French wine regions situated along the Loire River from the Muscadet region near the city of Nantes Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language.
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. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division 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 Côtes de Gascogne is produced in the Armagnac area. Gard ( Occitan: Gard) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white country wine mainly in the department Gers in the French region Midi-Pyrénées This article is about the county in France For other uses see Armagnac. A smaller subdivision still is the local Vin de Pays, which have very precise geographical specifications. There are about 100 of these local Vins de Pays, making them hard to recognize outside the region where they are produced.
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. The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume. Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture,
- 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. Southern France (or the South of France) colloquially known as Le Midi, is a loosely defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that 5% in South-west area and the Centre East area, and 9% for the Loire Valley and the East area. South West France or in French Sud-Ouest, is a Wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language.
- 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. In the United States table wine is used as a legal definition to differentiate standard Wine from stronger (higher alcohol content Fortified wine or
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. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Varietal describes Wines made primarily from a single named Grape variety.
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. New World wines are those Wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the 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. Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red Wine grape varieties. Merlot ('MERL-oh' in British English mer-LOH in American English and standard French is a red Wine Grape that is used as both a blending grape and for Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure ("Delimited Wine of Superior Quality" usually abbreviated as VDQS, is the second highest category of French wine, 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.
See also
- Indicazione Geografica Tipica, the rough equivalent in Italy
External links
Indicazione geografica tipica is the second of four classifications of Wine recognized by the government of Italy.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic