Episode 3: How Do You Build an AOC? Featuring Guest Yves Cuilleron

Is there anything Frencher than wrapping our wine in a bundle of bureaucratic red tape?

If you’ve ever seen a meme about “sparkling boyfriends” or “sparkling anxiety,” you’ve already brushed up against France’s infamous wine labeling system: AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) and its modern twin AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée). 

In short, these are France’s quality seals, the rulebooks that tell you exactly where a wine comes from and how it’s made. They cover everything from grape varieties to vineyard size to how high the vines can grow. It’s also the way the French usually talk about wine, asking for a Bordeaux or a Sancerre, rather than a Pinot Noir or Chardonnay like we tend to do in the U.S.

There are currently 363 French wines with AOC/AOP status, from Champagne to Saint-Émilion, and the Rhône is about to welcome lucky number 364: AOC Vins de Vienne.

To walk us through how you actually build an appellation from scratch, we’re joined by legendary winemaker Yves Cuilleron, who has been at the forefront of reviving forgotten vineyards in the Northern Rhône.

Tune in to learn:

• Why these hillside vineyards are back-breaking to farm and why the results are worth it
• How the region lost its historic name, Seyssuel (no, not because it looks like “sexual”)
• How Yves helped rescue Condrieu from extinction, cementing his status as one of Caroline’s wine heroes

Hosted by Lyon-based sommelier Caroline Fazeli & Paris-based food journalist Emily Monaco.

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