Old Burgundy foils nouveau invasion by white Beaujolais
A long- running dispute between winemakers in Beaujolais and the rest of Burgundy has recently come to a conclusion and not in a way that will please the Beaujolais producers.
The dispute stems from the practice of a number of Beaujolais vintners who have traditionally made white wine from Chardonnay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region and selling it as white Burgundy. Volumes of these wines have increased over the years and Burgundy winemakers were fearful that it would threaten their reputation and commercial future.
There would not have been a problem if the wine was sold under the Beaujolais name, but old labelling laws allowed it to be sold as a Bourgogne Blanc alongside Chardonnay from the Cote d’Or, Cote Chalonnaise and Macon.
A case was brought by the Burgundy Wine Growers Association the BIVB, whose Director Guillaume Willette has said ”This is a major economic problem. The Burgundy steamliner risks being sunk by the Beaujolais iceberg”.
A few weeks ago the INAO, the organisation in France responsible for appellation matters, ruled that white Beaujolais may no longer be labelled AOC white Burgundy.
