France allows regions to do away with traditional 'ban des vendanges'

The Graves region of Bordeaux and Bourgeuil in the Loire have become some of the first appellations to do away with the traditional harvest start date, or 'ban des vendanges'.

As part of wine sector reforms initiated by the national appellations office (INAO), wine regions throughout France have been given the freedom to decide whether or not they wish to abolish the ban.

Allowing areas to abolish the harvest date can, in some cases, put an end to early harvesting and increase quality.

'Winegrowers went harvesting as soon as the ban was proclaimed without even looking at the maturity of their grapes,' one Loire winemaker told French wine site Viti-net.com.

The head of the Bourgeuil winemakers' union, Philippe Pitault said that his organisation would continue testing maturity and issue a 'correct' harvest date.

French wine export volumes fall, but values rise

French wine producers exported less wine in the first half of this year but got more for it than a year earlier as overseas markets opted for more expensive wines, a report said.

Ubifrance, the French export development agency, said export volumes fell 8.7 percent in the six months through June. However, the value of French wine sent overseas increased by 8.2 percent to 3.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion).

The author of the report, Herve Henrotte, warned against celebrating the rich returns, which "concerns only a small category of products, hiding a less euphoric reality."

While fine Bordeaux and other vintage wines are popular exports, lower-quality wines and lesser-known wine regions struggle against competitors from countries such as Australia, Chile and the United States.