French winemakers fear a European Commission proposal, which will be addressed later this month by the EC’s Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets, could allow American wines made from bought-in, non-château grown grapes to use the term château on their labels.

If this proposal is given the go-ahead, it would destroy the meaning of the term château as it refers to unique wines made from a specific site, according to a source quoted in an article in The Drinks Business. In France, all of the grapes used in a château-named wine must be grown on that château’s premises.

Representatives from Bordeaux’s wine council, CIVB, have denounced the initiative as confusing to French consumers and potentially ruinous to the tradition of château wine production.

The organisation’s vice-president, Georges Haushalter, told Le Parisien: “It is unthinkable that the EC, which is supposed to defend our interests, approves of this measure. In the US it’s different; they use the term château to create a brand name like Coca Cola or Nike.

“There is a great danger that the château notion will disappear in France. The consumer is going to feel lost.”

The vice-president believes that if the French Agriculture Minister refuses to fight the measure, wine producers could seek legal action. The château label accounts for up to four-fifths of winemakers’ sales across France.