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I never understood the whole “boycott France” idea. France never said “No” to President Bush when it came to going into Iraq, yet some uninformed members of Congress loudly began to lay blame on France for almost all that was wrong with the world today. France never said “No”.

Russia said “No”, yet no one stopped drinking Russian vodka or called for a boycott of Russian caviar or Russian fur coats. Germany said “No”, but no one gave up their Mercedes-Benz in protest. Belgium said “No”, yet there was no stigma attached to enjoying Belgian beer or Belgian chocolates. Canada said “No” and there was no outcry to rename Canadian bacon “Freedom Bacon”.

France is our oldest and truest ally. The French philosophers of the Enlightenment inspired our Founding Fathers to throw off the idea that kings were ordained by God and take up the ideas of democracy, freedom and “liberty and justice for all”. France nearly went bankrupt helping to fund our own American Revolution, and French troops, today, are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, shoulder-to-shoulder with our own soldiers and Marines.

I’m glad to report that this whole foolish boycott, called for by silly, little men, has failed. Imports of French wines this year are up 13% by volume, and 22% by value.

So … why France? If you are a wine drinker, you quickly come to discover that France created the classification standards which have been adopted throughout Europe, and form the basis for our own fledgling designation rules. Because of this enlightened system, we wine drinkers can tell, by simply reading the wine label, what style of wine is in the bottle and we are guaranteed a level of quality. If I am looking for a crisp, bone-dry white wine to enjoy with fresh oysters and I choose a bottle of Muscadet, I know that the wine will be exactly what I am looking for, made certain by the French laws of Appellations d’Origine Controlée.

The French system of Appellations d’Origine Controlée (AOC) dates back to the 15th Century, when Roquefort cheese was both protected from counterfeits and imposters and the standards of Quality regulated by law. Modern Appellation laws began in 1919 and are meant to insure the integrity and quality of the product named, to protect the producers from “outsiders” using the name of their unique product for their goods, and to guarantee to the consumer that what is on the label matches what is inside the package.

In the case of wines the designation “Appellation Controlée” (AC) is the highest rating given, and the laws governing the growth and production of those wines are the most strict. Lower on the quality designation field are Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS), Vin de Pays and Vinde Table.

French wines must conform to set standards in these ways:

The land. Where the grapes for an appellation may be grown is precisely defined and limited. The composition of the soil, the altitude of the vineyard, whether the land is flat, slopes gently or steeply, faces towards the sun … all of this is factored into whether a vineyard is granted the right to a protected name and, in some cases, if the vineyard will be granted the highly coveted (and profitable) designation of Premier Cru (First Growth) or Grand Cru (Great Growth).

Grapes. The AOC laws specify which grape varieties may be planted in an Appellation-designated area. This matching of which grape grows best in which area is based on centuries of trial and error, meticulous record-keeping and tradition. A grower may plant any grape which he chooses but, if he plants Zinfandel, for exaple, he cannot call his wine Burgundy.

Viticultural practices: The number of vines planted per hectare, the way in which the vines are pruned and trellised, fertilization methods, irrigation, whether grapes must be picked by machine or by hand … all are specifically addressed and defined.

Permissible yield: Since a large crop decreases the overall quality of a harvest, the higher the quality designation, the smaller the amount of grapes per vine that may be grown.

Alcohol content: All Appellations must guarantee a minimum alcohol level, which means that the grapes have reached a required level of ripeness and have developed ripe flavors.

Winemaking practices: Every AC region has regulations governing the methods used to make wine. These are based on the historic practices of the area, allowing for such modernization as hydraulic grape presses, stainless steel fermentation tanks, temperature control, etc.

Official tasting: All AC wines must be tasted and their flavor approved by a panel, made up of Appellation officials and local winemakers. This step is to insure typicity. Your Muscadet should taste like a Muscadet, and not like a Pouilly Fumé … and not like a damp basement, either!

AOC wines must have met all seven criteria in order to carry the name of their appellation. If they fail to meet so much as one standard, they are declassified, or knocked down a step, which meant that they will bring in less money for the winery.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper