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Appellations And Adaptations: Geographical Indication, Viticulture, And Climate Change, Raz Barnea

Washington International Law Journal

Fine wine as we know it is a relatively modern innovation. But French wine culture presents a mythology of a stable and venerable tradition dating back centuries. Central to this mythology is the concept of terroir: the notion that the place—both the land and the people—defines the product. In the early Twentieth Century, France adopted laws giving local producers of wine exclusive rights to name the wine for the region of its origin. These regions, called appellations, have come to stand for the type and quality of wine produced within them—Champagne and Bordeaux are two well-known examples. The appellation regime …