Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday, 23 January 2009

2nd year of VDP du Val de Loire

It is now two years since Vins de Pays Jardin de la France was renamed VDP du Val de Loire. Apparently few knew where or what Le Jardin de la France is. 300,000 litres (4 million bottles) of VDP du Val de Loire were produced in 2008. This represents 14% of all Loire wines but just 3% of French vins de pays. The Midi continues to dominate production of these wines. Exports represents 15% of sales

Over the past six years the number of Loire vdp producers has dropped from 2644 to 1594 and the area in production from 8820 in 2001/2 to 6961 in 2007/8, while the average holding per producer has risen over the same period from 3.05 ha to 4.20 ha.

In August 2009 VDP du Val de Loire will move to the European classification of Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP). Apart from plenty of long and tedious meetings and probably more paperwork, I’m not sure what this will actually mean in practical terms.

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