Declassified: A Special Report On How France's AOC System Is Forcing Winemakers To Go Rogue
France's labeling system, the appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC for short) has been in peril for decades now. Why? While lowering standards to accommodate the interests of the biggest producers and cooperatives they are aggressively policing natural wines. The result has been to discourage younger winemakers from seeking AOC status, to the detriment of winemakers and wine lovers alike.
All of the wines featured this month are declassified from the French AOC system, yet they embody the spirit of the original institution better than many official AOC wines. They are from some of our favorite producers: Olivier Cousin, Christian Ducroux, Matassa, Domaine l'Ecu, Coutelou, Ozil, Marc Pesnot, Martin Texier, Bruno Duchêne, and Cyril Fhal.
The AOC system was once a venerable institution that helped rescue the wine trade less than a century ago from widespread fraud. What happened and what can be done?
Read more in this month's Direct Press.
By Jonathan Kemp
