Vin de France is the most basic level of quality for wines from France. These are generally uncomplicated everyday drinks - most often blends, but perhaps also Varietal wines based on a well-known Grape variety such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Wines from France are those that do not meet the criteria stipulated by the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) or Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) laws (see information on French wine labels). This may be because the vineyards are outside the delimited production areas or because the grape varieties or winemaking techniques used do not conform to the rules of the local appellations.
Although there are some notable exceptions to the rule, most Vin de France wines are produced from high-yielding vines in the South of France (particularly Languedoc-Roussillon), most often from widely planted traditional grape varieties such as Carignan or Merlot. These are light, Fruity wines, intended for early consumption. Many of the wines of France are "bag-in-box" or "box wine" wines, as the economies of scale of cheaper packaging are an attractive option for producers and consumers. There are, however, wines from France of exceptional interest and quality.
China was previously Australia’s leading export market, with sales worth $1.2 billion in the year to September 2020. However, Beijing then imposed a 212% tariff on imported wine from Australia as a retaliatory measure after Canberra called for an international investigation into China’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. Trade minister Simon Birmingham called it ‘a very distressing time for many hundreds of Australian wine producers, who have built in good faith a sound market in China’ ...
Josh Jensen was famed for producing elegant, silky Pinot Noirs at Calera Wine Company on the Central Coast. Leading wine critic Robert Parker Jr once described Calera – the company that Jensen founded in 1971 – as ‘California’s Romanée-Conti.’ Jensen completed undergraduate studies at Yale, but his love of fine wine blossomed while completing an MA in social anthropology at Oxford University in the UK. He was a key member of the rowing crew at both universities, but he still found time to devel ...
The latest survey from trade body WineGB shows that sales of English and Welsh wines have now increased by 69% between 2019 and 2021. The star performer is the direct-to-consumer sector, which is up by 265% over two years. It now represents 57% of all sales, up from just 36% in 2019. That means English and Welsh wine producers are increasingly cutting out the middlemen – supermarkets, specialist merchants, bars and restaurants – and selling directly to their devotees, either via their ecommerce ...