#52026XC02590EU publishes amendments to the Duché d’Uzès wine PDO specification
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The amendment updates the production rules for wines sold under the Duché d’Uzès protected designation of origin in France. It changes the approved geographic area, adds 10 municipalities in Gard, removes one municipality with no vineyards, and updates references to France’s 2024 official geographic code. Wine producers and control bodies are most affected. The changes also simplify grape variety and blending rules, allow more pruning flexibility for Viognier, add environmental production rules, and set conditions for using the broader label term “Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône.”
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Adds 10 municipalities to the Duché d’Uzès PDO production area and removes Saint-Jean-du-Pin because it has no vineyards
- Simplifies grape variety and blending rules while keeping the main PDO varieties dominant
- Adds environmental rules banning chemical weed control on headlands and full chemical weeding of parcels, and banning plastic mulching at planting
Obligations
What this law requires
Wines marketed under the ‘Duché d’Uzès’ PDO must use grapes harvested and wines made, developed and aged only within the listed municipalities of Gard identified by the 2024 Official Geographic Code.
Vineyards producing ‘Duché d’Uzès’ PDO wine must have a minimum planting density of 4,000 vines per hectare, row spacing not exceeding 2.50 metres, and no more than 2.50 m² available per vine.
Vines used for ‘Duché d’Uzès’ PDO wines must be pruned before 30 April of the harvest year.
Vines must generally be spur-pruned with a maximum of 12 buds per vine and a maximum of 2 buds per spur; Syrah N and Viognier B may instead be long-pruned with a maximum of 10 buds per plant, including no more than 6 buds on the cane and 2 spurs with no more than 2 buds each.
For parcels intended to produce wine bearing the ‘Duché d’Uzès’ PDO, operators must not make substantial alterations to the shape and contours of the landscape or to the natural pedological sequence of parcels.