The (Lucky) French Thirteen

Administrative map of the 13 (new as of 2016) regions of France

It’s called territorial reform.

As a citizen of the world, you have no doubt heard by now that in January of this year (2016), after years of debate, the French government reduced the number of the administrative regions in Metropolitan France from 22 to 13. This “simplification” has been dubbed le big bang des régions by the French media.

Despite their original intent (and hopefully, eventual success) such changes tend to complicate things in the short term. In this regard, we wish the French well.

On a more selfish note, as a lifelong student of wine this means I need to re-do some of my flashcards. I’m in the process of doing just that, but for now I felt the need to make a quick survey of how these new administrative regions affect the study of French wines!

First, some quick good news: A lot of wine study deals in departments, and these have not changed. There are still 101 departments in France, which include: 94 on the mainland, 2 in Corsica, and 5 overseas territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, and Mayotte). Your studies of the Haut-Rhin, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne have not been in vain.

And for some more good news, the following administrative regions of France have not changed:

• Bretagne (Brittany)
• Centre (although the name has changed to Centre-Val de Loire)
• Île-de-France
• Pays de la Loire
• Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

The departments – thankfully, there have been no recent changes

That leaves seven newly-defined regions. Here goes:

Grand Est: The newly-formed Grand Est region comprises the former regions of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine. The capital city is Strasbourg. That’s right—the Alsace region (technically) is no more. However, the wine region is still referred to as Alsace, and if you look Alsace up in a (non-wine centric) dictionary or encyclopedia, it will define it along the lines of something like “a historic and cultural area of France.” Main wine areas in the Grand Est region include Champagne (parts of which cross over into the new Hauts-de-France region to the northwest), Alsace, Moselle AOC, and Côtes de Toul AOC.

Bourgogne-Franche Comté: This new region encompasses the former regions of Bourgogne (Burgundy) and Franche Comté. The capital city is Dijon. There is nothing too complicated about this region, it is merely the coupling of two former administrative areas into one, with a hyphenated name. Wine regions affected include Burgundy (even Chablis, Irancy, and Saint-Bris made the cut) and Jura. The vineyards of Beaujolais and the Savoie AOC are now partially in the region of Bourgogne-French Comté and partially in the new region to the south (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). The good news: the ideal pairing of white Burgundy and Comté cheese now consists of two sister products from the same region.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: Like Bourgogne-Franche Comté, this newly-formed administrative region seems to be merely a late marriage (complete with hyphenated name) between two longtime neighbors. The capital city is Lyon. The main wine regions within the new region include all of the Northern Rhône Valley (from Côte Rotie in the north to Saint-Péray at the southern tip) and Grignan-les-Adhémar (of the Southern Rhône), parts of Beaujolais, and parts of the Savoie AOC.

Occitanie: This new region is made up of the former regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées.  The capital city is Toulouse. Just like long, lost Alsace, we will read things like “Languedoc is a former province of France. Its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in the south of France.” (Thank you, Wikipedia.) The Occitanie region contains all of the vineyards areas of Languedoc and Roussillon as well as some of the AOCs of Southwest France, including Cahors, Floc de Gasconge, and Fronton. Note: the terms “Languedoc” and “Roussillon” will still be used to refer to wine regions/appellations.

…

Nouvelle Aquitaine: This new region is comprised of the former regions of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes. The capital city is Bordeaux. This new area includes all of the vineyards and AOCs of Bordeaux (thank goodness), all of the Cognac-producing region and most of the Armagnac-producing areas (a portion of which stretches into Occitanie). Nouvelle Aquitaine also includes some AOCs of Southwest France, including Bergerac, Buzet, Côtes de Duras, and Monbazillac.

Normandie (Normandy): This area hasn’t changed too much; it just combines the former regions of Upper Normandy and Lower Normandy. This totally makes sense to me and seems like an actual simplification. The new capital city is Rouen. Wine production is not really a thing here, but the apple brandy (with its three Calvados AOCs) and the Camembert cheese is quite good.

Hauts-de-France: Named for this area’s location at the “top” (haut) of France, this new area comprises the two former regions of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. The capital city is Lille. Not much wine production goes on in this northerly spot, aside from the fact that the official boundaries of the Champagne region extend ever-so-slightly into the Hauts-de-France’s Aisne department.

Click here for a pdf of the maps-of-france-used-in-this-post, including a blank map of the “New France.”

References/for more information:

• Johnson, H., & Robinson, J. (2013). The World Atlas of Wine (Seventh edition). London: Mitchell Beazely.
• Robinson, J., & Harding, J. (2015). The Oxford Companion to Wine (Fourth edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• https://www.frenchentree.com/uncategorised/map-of-france-redrawn
• http://about-france.com/regions.htm
• http://www.completefrance.com/home/discover_france_s_new_regions_and_capitals_1_4604961
• http://www.completefrance.com/home/news/why_did_france_change_its_regions_1_4530942
• http://www.thelocal.fr/20150731/france-names-capital-cities-for-new-regions

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net