Territorial diagnosis and delimitation of wine PDOs in France

Abstract

Since 1935, grapes used to produce French AOC wines must come from a precisely defined area at the plot level. These boundaries make it possible to identify the production potential of a given territory, whether planted or not, based on natural and human factors characteristic of the appellation (link to terroir). References to these boundaries are included in the AOC specifications. While for several decades INAO focused solely on this potential, today the work of defining new appellations or revising existing appellation areas cannot ignore the other components of a territory (natural areas, urbanised areas, areas subject to regulatory constraints, etc.). INAO has therefore rethought its practices for delimiting wine AOCs to better integrate territorial planning in all its diversity, in connection with the public policies that shape it.

In 2025, a new directive on delimitation procedures requires that a territorial diagnosis be systematically carried out before any delimitation work begins.

The challenge is to stop considering the different components of a territory separately, and instead adopt a dynamic and cross-cutting approach that takes their interactions into account. Establishing such a diagnosis prior to delimitation work should help better understand contemporary issues expressed through regulatory zoning, in line with societal expectations. For example, why designate as AOP areas with no past or present viticultural use, identified as natural spaces with high ecological value?

Conducting this territorial diagnosis requires access to the many public datasets available for the area. The implementation and use of a GIS (Geographic Information System) allows for the identification—though not exhaustively—of various regulatory zonings across different fields of territorial planning, such as protected natural areas, urban planning, and natural resource exploitation sites. These data can be cross-referenced with INAO’s geographic data and the actual location of vineyards. Such geospatial analyses help inform decision-making in the context of delimitation work.