3 ms·

It seems like the labeling restrictions are what matter here. I can buy a wine from France and see it was grown and bottled on the estate. Or I can see it was

by arh68 12y ago

It seems like the labeling restrictions are what matter here. I can buy a wine from France and see it was grown and bottled on the estate. Or I can see it was bottled by a negociant/middleman. I really have no strong preference either way, as long as they're labeled correctly. (Louis Jadot, anyone?) This bourbon thing, though, I guess Americans don't care what's printed on the label. Hell, it was France that gave Andre flak for their "California Champagne". (Champagne comes from France, nowhere else) Anything goes here, I guess. Bourbon should be labeled similarly: either it's distilled, aged & bottled on the estate or it's bottled by a reseller. It's rather funny to think about champagne now, because I think "bourbon" is an American trademark like "champagne" is a French one. Naming things, harder than it seems.

miahi 12y ago
The EU has quite strong laws regarding the naming and labeling of wines. A Champagne bottle is not only a sparkling wine coming from France, but from the specific Champagne region, from a limited types of grapes grown in that region and obtained using a specific fermentation process. There is also a limit on the cultivated surface and the number of bottles produced each year. As the "champagne" name is renowned, this keeps the prices very high for the whole process. As I remember, only the right to cultivate a couple of acres of vineyard in the Champagne region can cost up to $1M - not including the actual land and vines. (in the EU the vineyards are regulated, you cannot just plant 100 acres of vineyard wherever you want, you have to obtain a kind of license to be able to cultivate wine grapes, and this license is given only for specific types of grapes depending on the region).
kasey_junk 12y ago
Bourbon has quite a few labeling restrictions for instance: - Must be produced in the US. - Must be 51% corn on the mash bill. - Aged in new charred white oak barrels. If it is straight bourbon it must be at least 2 years old. If it is less than 4 years old it must say how old it is. If it has an age statement on it, that must be the youngest bourbon in the blend. I'm not sure, but I think interstate legislation requires that the distillery location be on the label as well. Anyone who knows what they are talking about can narrow down the distillery based just on this.

by arh68 12y ago

miahi 12y ago

The EU has quite strong laws regarding the naming and labeling of wines. A Champagne bottle is not only a sparkling wine coming from France, but from the specific Champagne region, from a limited types of grapes grown in that region and obtained using a specific fermentation process. There is also a limit on the cultivated surface and the number of bottles produced each year. As the "champagne" name is renowned, this keeps the prices very high for the whole process. As I remember, only the right to cultivate a couple of acres of vineyard in the Champagne region can cost up to $1M - not including the actual land and vines. (in the EU the vineyards are regulated, you cannot just plant 100 acres of vineyard wherever you want, you have to obtain a kind of license to be able to cultivate wine grapes, and this license is given only for specific types of grapes depending on the region).

kasey_junk 12y ago

Bourbon has quite a few labeling restrictions for instance: - Must be produced in the US. - Must be 51% corn on the mash bill. - Aged in new charred white oak barrels. If it is straight bourbon it must be at least 2 years old. If it is less than 4 years old it must say how old it is. If it has an age statement on it, that must be the youngest bourbon in the blend. I'm not sure, but I think interstate legislation requires that the distillery location be on the label as well. Anyone who knows what they are talking about can narrow down the distillery based just on this.