Vin de Pays (VDP), the French national equivalent of PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) at the European level, is a quality category of French wines, positioned between Vin de Table (VDT) and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC). This layer of the French appellation system was initially introduced in September 1968 by the INAO, the official appellation authority. It underwent several early revisions in the 1970s, followed by substantial changes in September 2000 and again in 2009, when all existing VDT titles were automatically registered with the European Union as PGI. Producers retain the choice of using either the VDP or PGI titles on their labels, or both - in the form "IGP-Vin de Pays".
There are now more than 150 VDP/IGP titles, mainly covering the southern third of France. The "Vin de Pays" level is intended to benefit both consumers and wine producers. It allows consumers to know clearly where a wine comes from, while producers are empowered to produce wine outside the constraints of traditional AOC laws. The most obvious freedoms are the higher yields allowed and a more comprehensive list of permitted Grape varieties.
Malbec, a high-yielding red grape variety, produces tannic and colourful wines. It is produced in different wine-growing regions and changes its name according to the grape variety. Called Auxerrois in Cahors, Malbec in Bordeaux, it is also known as Côt. 6,000 hectares of the Malbec grape are grown in France (in decline since the 1950s). Malbec is also very successful in Argentina. The country has become the world's leading producer of Malbec and offers wines with great potential.
red wines from the region of Vin de Pays go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pasta or veal such as recipes of beef enchilladas au gratin, pasta with tuna and tomato sauce or cutlets with portuguese sauce.
On the nose in the region of Vin de Pays often reveals types of flavors of red fruit, game or chalk and sometimes also flavors of cedar, boysenberries or nutty. In the mouth in the region of Vin de Pays is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
An alleged investment fraud scheme claimed to broker loans between investors and ‘high net worth’ fine wine collectors, with expensive bottles purportedly held in storage as collateral, US authorities said this week. Prosecutors filed an indictment in a New York federal court charging two British men, Stephen Burton, 57, and James Wellesley, 55, with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy in connection to the scheme – which was allegedly perpetrated through their compa ...
The grapes have been picked and Argentina is able to file another successful harvest for 2022, to match the previous four years. However producers are reporting that 2022 was the most singular of recent vintages, with each region experiencing its own challenges. Mendoza ‘The 2021-2022 season reminds me of a good Hollywood movie,’ said Martín Kaiser, viticulturist at Doña Paula in Mendoza. ‘It certainly kept us entertained. Our hearts were in our mouths all the way through, but it had a great end ...
Approved by the INV viticultural institute on 1 July, Balcarce is the fourth GI to be named in the province of Buenos Aires. The province was largely abandoned as a winemaking region in the 1930s following a law permitting wine to be made only in the Andean Cuyo region, but is is slowly making a name for itself once again with cool climate vintages. Encompassing coast, prairie and the Tandilia mountains, Balcarce is located 37 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and has until recently been known for p ...
