Languedoc-Roussillon AOC...Good or bad for Lanuedoc's wines?

[Admin]

It has only taken 10 years but the various bodies controlling France's and the region's AOCs have agreed to adopt one over-riding appellation to cover the whole of the Languedoc Roussillon. Wine officials in the area believe it will help the region, France's biggest for wine production, to become more accessible to consumers at home and abroad. However it might not be fully in place for another five years or so under current proposals. What do you think? Will this help the industry better market the region and ensure it gains more recognition? Or will this mean more established and respected appellations like Saint Chinian loose out?

To read more about what's about to happen - click here:

[Jonathan H]

Personally I feel it is unnecessary as there is already a "brand" which covers the region - Vin de Pays d'Oc. We also now have a brand called "South of France" which can be put on any bottle produced from here, Provence or Southern Rhone.

Appellation Controlee is supposed to signify something that is specific or typical of its region of production. The Languedoc is too big (largest vineyard area on Earth) to have a single appellation.

My feeling is this will just create more jobs for administrators, cost the producer more subscriptions and do nothing to help marketing.