WOOD CHIP BAN MAY NOT HAPPEN

The French regulatory body for AOC wines, the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine), may not sign the wood chip ban after all.

The organization is going through a restructuring process to focus more closely on quality control, which has led to speculation that the INAO’s recent ban on wood chips in AOC winemaking may not hold up.

The group’s reorganization, along with France’s impending election, might be reason enough to keep the Minister for Agriculture, Dominique Bussereau, from signing the decree. At this point nothing is final, but we’ll keep you posted.