Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There was no 'one size fits all' solution in wine labelling. Our first bottling was approach-
ing fast. This was no time for confusion but we were thoroughly confused. But the feed-
back on the owl was clear, it would get Garrigue confused with whiskey, Australian wine
and who knows what else. We axed the owl and created a new label with the outline of a
roof or a mountain and a moon… or a sun depending on the client's perspective.
I sent copies of the label to the two wine buyers I had met on my marketing trip.
'I like your label. Smart.'
'Good, clean label,' said the other.
We decided to go ahead with the design. There was no time for any more trials. We'd still
had no quotes or options from the smartly dressed Jean-Philippe. A few people recommen-
ded a local independent bottler so I called and he came round that evening.
Pierre de Saint Viance looked like someone out of
Asterix
. He was solid and red-haired
with the air of a temper that would flare fast and be assuaged as quickly, but his keen sense
of humour was to the fore. At that first meeting he gave Sean all the information he needed;
his tariffs, suppliers of bottles, corks and capsules; who to contact and more.
'Make sure they give you the preferential rates they have agreed with me,' said Pierre.
In less than an hour we had all we needed. We were euphoric.
'Have you received your
agréments
yet?' asked Pierre.
'No, I need to get them this week,' said Sean.
Ourlabels had to state the details ofourAOC sowe needed ourwine oforigin agreements
quickly. This approval was based on a laboratory analysis and panel-tasting of the wine. If
the wine received the thumbs-up we would be able to call it AOC; if not, we would have to
call it
'vin de table'
.
While the French AOC system is rigorously controlled and each wine appellation - there
are around 400 - has their own production rules,
vin de table
or table wine has no quality
controls but must comply with EU regulations. It is typically associated with large-scale in-
dustrial production, although many quality wines are appearing under
vin de table
to avoid
the constraints of the AOC.
We didn't have any concerns about the wines as their analysis was perfect and their taste
had changed dramatically from their mid-winter doldrums. It was hard to believe they were
the same wines; they were 'absolutely delicious' as the French
Reader's Digest
magazine
said in an article at the time. They had called us up out of the blue after finding us on the
Internet hoping to include us in an article about farmers in the Périgord. The journalists
had taken some great photos, tasted through our range of wines and written a very positive
article. Feeling confident, thanks to that and what our own taste buds told us, we sent in the
paperwork and a few days later the wine samples were collected.
In France there is a dedicated police force called 'the Fraud Squad' who make sure that
labelling is correct and within the rules. There is no room for loose marketing statements.
