Changes in the French Winescape

Qualifying tradition: Instituted practices in the making of the organic wine market in Languedoc‐Roussillon, France

“…Emphasis was placed on high yields, frequently over 100 hl of wine per ha. As a consequence, the region's wine became known for being thin, without character or complexity, and low in alcohol—in short, ‘plonk’ (Crowley, 1993; Jones, 1989; Loubère, 1990). A good portion of this wine was sold in bulk rather than in bottles, some of it directly, but much of it to intermediaries or négociants who would blend and bottle it for distribution under their own labels.…”

“…However, since the 1960s, the wine sector in Languedoc‐Roussillon has experienced significant restructuring (Crowley, 1993; Filippi, 2012). Known generally as a ‘shift to quality’, change has been encouraged and initiated in part by the French and EU governments coincident with the development of the common European market (Jones, 1989).…”

“…Although complex and contested, the shift to quality has entailed a move away from productivism. Discrete aspects of the shift include decreased use of irrigation; emphasis on lower yields; reductions in vineyard area (including via highly controversial and contested ‘arrachage’ or wine pull programs ); replanting vineyards with varieties associated with higher‐quality wine (e.g., grenache, syrah and mourvèdre); and an increased emphasis on production of geographically delimited appellation wines (Crowley, 1993). These processes have had significant implications for the cooperative movement in Languedoc‐Roussillon and have in general terms been controversial within it.…”

“…Languedoc‐Roussillon is important as a regional focus for three main reasons: (i)It is the largest wine‐growing region in the world by volume of production; (ii)It has been and remains the most important regional hearth for the organic wine movement in France, in turn one of the leading national producers of organic wine; and (iii)For much of the 20th century, the region was known for producing large volumes of relatively generic, inexpensive table wine sold primarily to working class families in French cities. More recently, the Languedoc‐Roussillon ‘winescape’ (Crowley, 1993) has been transformed through a geographically uneven process known as the ‘shift to quality’, with increasing emphasis placed on the production of higher‐quality wines. …”

Gospodarske i enološke karakteristike otpornih sorata loza (Vitis sp.) u uvjetima Zagrebačkog vinogorja

“…U međuvremenu je problem filoksere uspješno riješen cijepljenjem na podloge podrijetlom od otpornih sjevernoameričkih vrsta V. riparia, V. rupestris, V. berlandieri, a razvijen je veliki broj fungicida koji učinkovito suzbijaju plamenjaču i pepelnicu. Zbog nezadovoljavajuće kakvoće vina u europskim zemljama doneseni su propisi koji zabranjuju proizvodnju vina od međuvrsnih križanaca te se površine vinograda pod ovim sortama bitno smanjuju i u Francuskoj: do kraja 80-ih godina 20. st. zauzimaju manje od 3% ukupnih površina (Crowley, 1993).…”