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Fédération des Vins de Bergerac (FVB), the CIVRB, the INAO and the douanes (customs),
who were strangely linked into many processes. Bureaucracy was proving a serious oppon-
ent and we hadn't made any wine yet.
I called the INAO Bergerac again, the same people I had been in touch with in my failed
hunt for the copies of the agréments , and explained my new problem. Madame said she
would allow me to do the declaration for AC Saussignac and AC Côtes de Bergerac in
person the following morning at their offices. I arrived punctually. When we finished the
declarations Madame picked up a folder on her desk and passed it to me.
'I have those copies for you.'
I opened the folder to find the four agréments we needed for the sample shipment. I still
don't know who convinced her to give us copies of agréments that were officially no longer
available but I took them home, elated.
A few days later as we prepared the sample shipment two AOC 'police' arrived. One was
Joel, a middle-aged farmer with a mass of bob-length greying blonde hair, and the other
our old friend Monsieur Ducasse, the Chamber of Agriculture representative, who raised
his eyebrows in surprise at seeing us still here. He and Joel had come to count buds and
check that the pruning on the Saussignac appellation vineyards met the strict rules. Ellie
eyed him suspiciously, maybe wondering if she was in for another dazzling display of fa-
cial contortions.
Appellation rules cover everything; from what you plant and how you plant it, to how you
make your wine. These rules are outlined in a cahier des charges and are so detailed they
even define the maximum number of buds allowed per vine; eight in this case. Low yields
are necessary for quality and this is a way to restrict yields from the start of the season. The
vineyard check went smoothly and they left after offering Sean a few suggestions about
managing the yield and de-leafing. I was sure that our quota of administrative skirmishes
was over for a while.
Thefollowingweekwegotaletter fromtheINAOsayingtheycouldnotgrantustheright
to do AC Saussignac as we had no white grape vines.
'SF,Ithinkthe notaire dupedusandtransferred thewhite halfofthevineyard tohisbroth-
er,' I said, exasperated.
'No, it's a farce created to keep you practising French,' said Sean.
A few calls to the INAO and a visit to the douanes traced the error to a historic rental
agreement by the previous owners. It was all straightened out in one afternoon. I was al-
most disappointed.
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