1910 Syndicate of Defense
Definition - What does 1910 Syndicate of Defense mean?
The 1910 Syndicate of Defense was believed to have been started by Phillippe du Rothschild of Mouton, later they were joined by Yquem. They created a set of rules to govern the actions of wine estates and winemakers, including regulations against blending solely to satisfy market demand, and thus compromising traditions. It also including rules which guaranteed the protection of the consumers in keeping wines at fair prices within current market standards.
WineFrog explains 1910 Syndicate of Defense
The 1910 Syndicate of Defense was built up in the years following the Official Bordeax Classification of 1855. Since the mid-19th century, there had been an increase of fraudulent behavior to meet market demands for certain styles of wine. This activity was attributed to the devastation of many vineyards who suffered the last decades of the century due to the loss of vineyards from phylloxera. Despite the challenges they faced, the demand for French wine continued.
As a result, wineries became desperate and were dealing with the poor wine quality coming from their new hybrid vines resistant to phylloxera. To fix this issue, some producers mixed their wines with Algerian wines, allowing them to rebound. The result was a surplus of wine, thus devaluing the cost of French wine.
It was finally brought to the attention of the French government to act in 1907 to counter the fraud. Between 1908 and 1912, they began to delimit some areas of certain wines. It started in Champagne and continued to other regions, stating they could only use wine that was from their region and label it as such.
Overall it was a means to protect producers, tradition and the consumer.
