5 French Wine Production Styles at a Glance - Understanding the Logos

Confused with all the logos you find on French wine bottles? 

Not sure what type of French wine you are drinking? 

Here is a quick guide to exactly what is going on in the vineyards and 

therefore in the bottle. 

1. Organic - "Les Purs Biologiques"

Winegrowers that don't use either pesticides or herbicides. 

They only have a access to elements made available by nature e.g. Copper 

and Sulphur and the only treatments allowed are those that are washed 

away by the rain and do not penetrate into the plant. 

Wines are allowed to show the logo AB Agriculture Biologique.

AB Agriculture Biologique

 

2. Biodynamic - "Les Biodynamisyes"

These wine producers are considered the most radical fringe group of the 

organic producers. They refuse to use pesticides and weed killers.

They follow the norms of the organic producers imposed by the label AB 

Agriculture Biologique but also want to revert to typical soils of

animal material and plant matter.

Demeter

There are two main labels indicating Biodynamic Wine those of Demeter 

and Biodyvin.

Biodyvin

3. Natural Wines - Les Natures

This group of producers are different to the pure organic and biodynamic 

producers and are hostile to anything added to the wine during the process 

of the wine making. They are strongly opposed to the use of sulphur in the 

winery. Sulphites are reputed to act as anti-bacterial and are there good for 

conservation of wine. For the Naturalist the taste of the pure grape is all 

that is important. Nothing added and nothing taken away. Currently no label 

for "Natural Wines" but there is an Association des Vins Naturels.

Association des Vins Naturels AVN

4. Reasonable Culture - Les Raisonnés

Durable viticulture with the objective to limit the number of chemical 

treatments, reduce the amount of pesticides and weed killers and other...

...both in the vineyard and the winery. Some of these producers move to 

organic production as a next step.

Les Raisonnés - Reasonable Culture

5. The Conventionals - Les Conventionnels 

Or as I have often heard other producers describe them "Les Chimiques" 

(The Chemicals) 

75% of winegrowers in France are still conventional. They treat their vines 

with chemicals, pesticides and weed killers.