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.
Aligoté is an ancient Burgundian grape variety (it has different names depending on the region in which it is grown: griset blanc in Beaune, giboudot blanc in the Chalonnais or troyen blanc in the Aube), mainly used in the production of Bourgogne-Aligoté, Bouzeron and Crémant-de-Bourgogne.aligoté is a medium-fine white grape variety, quite productive, which gives clear, acidic, fresh and light white wines. An anecdote often says that it was a member of the clergy named Kir who gave it its letters of nobility by adding it to blackcurrant cream to prepare an aperitif.produced on more than 1,600 hectares in Burgundy, aligoté has also been exported. It is also cultivated in Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Romania), California, Canada and Chile, representing more than 20,000 hectares in the world.
sparkling wines from the region of Vin de Pays go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pork or rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) such as recipes of stuffed peppers, peasant minestrone or quebec style barbecued salmon.
