Shrinking Cotes, expanding AVAs
How many Cotes are too many? Five it turns out.
While Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and his Minister of Agriculture are thinking (after listening) how to resolve the crisis hitting French wine, some industry participants are moving on their own.
The producers who compose five Bordeaux appellations, or AOCs, with similar sounding names are hoping to merge, Decanter reports. Bordeaux has 57 appellations with only the top ones such as Margaux or Pomerol exacting a premium in the marketplace. A contraction is an excellent idea. The new proposed Côtes de Bordeaux region will merge potentially five non-contiguous AOCs including the Côtes de Bourg, Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Castillon, Côtes de Franc and Premiere Côtes de Bordeaux.
“Our aim is to simplify things for the consumer. These regions have a lot in common – all are Right Bank, largely Merlot-based, and largely approachable, fruit-driven wines. With better consumer recognition, they have great potential on the export market,” Christophe Chateau, director of the Cinq Côtes Association told Decanter.
Does this represent the triumph of marketing over terroir, or growing area? No, since the predecessor AOC will still receive mention as in, “Castillon: Côtes de Bordeaux Controlée” (although it would be better to place the more specific designation after the new name instead of in front of it).
The process will not be swift, if indeed it happens at all, since it must be approved by the National Office of Appellations of Origin (INAO). Look for the new region to appear on labels in 2007.
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Meanwhile, the American federal authorities who regulate growing areas in the US have been on a recent binge approving or modifying four American Viticultural Areas on January 6. Quite different from the AOCs, these toothless AVAs do not control winemaking practices the way the AOCs do, but are merely growing areas for grapes. And most grapes at that. To state an AVA on the label, a wine must contain only 85% wine from grapes grown in the designated region, compared to 100% in the AOCs. And this leads us to the new…
Texoma!!! No, it is not a Broadway revival. Instead, this sprawling new AVA comprises four Texas counties and 3,650 sq. mi., or a whopping 2.34 million acres. That dwarfs last year’s approval of the Horse Heaven Hills in Washington State, which rolled in at 570,000 acares.
While the fine line that the AVAs tread between marketing and distinctive growing climates appears to have been blown away in the sand: this AVA has a bouquet of 100% marketing. Terroir anyone? Hmm, that must be French.
tags: wine | wine & France | Bordeaux | AOCs | AVAs
