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French Table Wines

February 15th, 2008 Posted in French Wine Laws

In addition to the quality wines, France also has two classes of Table wine,: Vins de Pays, and Vins de Table.

Vins de Pays represents about 20 percent France’s wine production. It comes primarily from the areas bordering Belgium, Spain, and Italy. There are 4 important areas:

  • Vin de Pays d’Oc. This is the most important area, covering the Languedoc and Roussillon.
  • Vin de Pays des Comtés Rhodaniens. This includes the Rhône valley and the Alps areas.
  • Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France. The vineyards of the Loire valley and its surroundings.
  • Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan, which includes Bordeaux and southwest France.

In addition, there are 54 departmental Vins de Pays, and many regional Vins de Pays. To qualify for Vins de Pays, there are four requirements:

  1. Area of production. The grapes must be grown in one of the areas mentioned above.
  2. Grape varities. Each area has a recommended list of varieties to be grown, and this list is much larger than for quality wines, so a great deal of experimentation is allowed.
  3. Yields. Yields are controlled, but do not have to be as low as in quality wines.
  4. Alcohol level. The usual minimum alcohol level is around 9%-10%.

Vins de Table makes up 30% of French wine production. Vins de Table can be from grapes grown in any area of France, and will not have a region, vintage, or grape variety on the lable. It will only say Vins de Table. Yields are the highest out of all the categories. Chaptalization is not allowed, and the price is usually determined by the strength of the alcohol.

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