Appellation rules stunt growth

France can be a stifling place to live.

Rigid rules controlling what, how and where grapes are planted and wines are made have created, in France, some of Europe's clumsiest patterns of viticulture.

To non-French wine-makers, the certainty of being able to sell an entire crop to the local co-operative or having a state subsidy as a safety net, may seem like an unattainable dream.

But the Appellation Controlée (AC) system in France ...