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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




Thursday 27 March 2014

The perplexing mystery of the Loire's disappearing vineyards ...



Map of the Loire Valley Wines@ProWein 2014
without ACs Bourgueil, Montlouis and Fiefs Vendéens

Sharp eyed observers would have noticed something strange and mysterious about the map used by InterLoire at the 2014 edition of Prowein in Dusseldorf (23rd-25th March) to show the Loire Valley wines – no sign of Bourgueil, Montlouis nor Fiefs Vendéens nor a number of appellations like Cheverny etc.!

Have these décrets been cancelled, have they disappeared in a natural disaster or have the now famous hens of Ingrandes-de-Touraine multiplied and devoured appellation Bourgueil? In the case of the disappearance, as far as  Bourgueil is concerned, must be very recent as the appellation was in rude health as recently as the 15th March 2014 for their annual Fête des Vins à Tours. Furthermore I saw Jacky Blot on his Domaine de la Butte stand and he said nothing about the disappearance of Montlouis...  

Philippe Boucard@Bourgueil invades Tours 15.3.14 

A quick Google search draws a complete blank! However, an email from Philippe Boucard (Domaine Lamé Delisle Boucard) sent yesterday provides a clue:

'Je t' écris pour te dire que je suis très fâché par Interloire qui a fabriqué une carte des vins du Val de Loire qui était affichée à Prowein, où Bourgueil et Montlouis entre autre, ont disparu. Volatilisé , désintégré, éliminé.

Comme sur cette carte il n' est nullement précisé qu' il s' agit des AOC adhérentes à Interloire, le consommateurs lambda, va croire que nous n' existons plus. Il faudrait au moins qu' ils aient l' honnêteté de préciser que ce sont les AOC d' interloire. Pour moi je trouve cela très grave, scandaleux.

Quand penses tu ?*

(* Bourgueil, Montlouis and the Fiefs Vendéens have opted out of InterLoire -Jim.)


Unfortunately difficult to see but detail showing 
absence of Bourgueil and Montlouis


  Map from InterLoire's site showing Bourgueil, 
Montlouis and Fiefs Vendéens before they disappeared

Detail showing both Bourgueil and Montlouis 


An opportunity to find out what has happened to Bourgueil  – Saturday 19th April 2014 Des Poules & des Hommes@Ingrandes de Touraine.

16 comments:

Jim's Loire said...

Reactions:

Twitter:
Chris Kissack ‏@chris_kissack 5h

InterLoire remove non-adherent appellations from their map of the Loire. Unbelievably small-minded behaviour. Via @jymbudd

Michael Keating (Facebook):
Michael Keating No wonder we (Bourgueil) left Interloire. What twats!

Matt Dickinson said...

Utterly ridiculous! Did no one bother telling them that this kind of nonsense decision backfires and makes them look stupid? What are their PR chappies doing?! Did they not learn anything from MacDonalds, Ryanair et al.?!

Jim's Loire said...

Matt. Clearly not. I'm afraid this post on Les 5 du Vin tells its own story:

http://les5duvin.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/a-tale-of-two-events-ac-bourgueil-occupies-tours-quarts-de-chaume-decision/

Wink Lorch said...

How absurd is this? I hate poor maps with a vengeance and I hate this pettiness too.

Increasingly I despair of the French (and even other countries') generic bodies. They seem to be a mixture of all that is bad about civil servants, NGOs and people who are cowed by the larger wine producers who pay the most money to support them. When will they ever take a step back to understand good PR and to promote the greater good? On the other hand, to be fair they sometimes unfairly get the blame from small-minded producers who don't see the larger picture either. What is to be done?

Yours, equally frustrated by generic bodies.

Vinogirl said...

A silly marketing-misstep.

Unknown said...

Unbelievable that a company that is paid to draw a map of their shareholders does not mention people that left this company years ago !!! Really unfair isn't it ?

Unknown said...

Unbelievable that a company which is paid by its shareholders to draw maps does not mention people that left the council of the company years ago ! Really unfair isn't it ?

Jim's Loire said...

Antoine. Thank you.

It would be entirely fair for an organisation to produce a map showing those appellations that belonged to its organisation but the basis for the map ought to be clear. This instance the map is misleading titled Loire Valley Wines implying that this is a map of all of the vineyards of the Loire.

Unknown said...

yes but something is misunderstood. This doc is an advert and absolutely not an official poster. If it came out from a state agency (INAO) or the french minister for agriculture, we should complain. As long as we decided not to involve in Interloire company to promote our wines, we can't ask them to put our controlled appellation on their advertisements.
Another example of advert : http://www.vinplaisir.fr/chinon-bourgueil-vins-de-loire-coupdecoeur_degustation/

Jim's Loire said...

Antoine. I understand this but the context for the map was not made clear. See my comment above.

Unknown said...

Written Loire Valley Wines isn't the same meaning as Official list of the Loire Valley AOP. We're talking
about advertising-teasing and not education. This ad in a fair paid by a community of wineries is at its right spot. No confusion between promotion and education is possible ?

Jim's Loire said...

Good try Antoine but most visitors at Prowein would assume that this is a map of the Loire vineyards and not just one for the members of Interloire. Not everyone is aware of the local politics!

Jim's Loire said...

Antoine. Furthermore the map was sponsored by the Region Centre and Regions Pays de la Loire. As far as I know Bourgueil, Montlouis, Cheverny, Cour-Cheverny, Fiefs Vendéens still belong to these two Regions.

Unknown said...

Right but as you know in France, nothing is done without gov subsidies. Everyone can ask for them without being obliged to be exhaustive. Th pb with this map is more a matter of ego rather anything else. As long as we'll have people with a narrow minded view of the future more focus on splitting than putting our strength in common, the machine keeps breaking down.
But with the new generation of winemakers who went to uni, work in other companies that dad's one, things will improve and the Loire Valley will start to improve its image abroad. In Loire we trust ! and moreover in our delightful cab frac !

Jim's Loire said...

Antoine. Will have to agree to differ. The map is confusing for those not au fait with local politics.

Jim's Loire said...

PS Antoine – if Interloire is doing such a good job improving the image of the Loire's wines, why is it that I hear from them so rarely?

Why the complete silence about over the Conseil d'Etat confirmation of Quarts de Chaume grand cru?