Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne
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The Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) is the French branch of a worldwide committee created for the approval of champagne produced worldwide. This committee oversees both the growers and producers of champagne products, and works to preserve the tradition of the creation of classic champagnes. This committee also works worldwide to educate and offer outreach opportunites concerning champagne and its production. Other countries also have branches of this committee, such as the Office of Champagne, located in Washington, DC, USA.
The CIVC was established by the French government in 1941 as a cooperative of all involved in the production of Champagne to protect their interests. It regulates the production of grapes as well as the production, distribution and sale of the final product. Until 1990, it fixed the price of grapes and it continues to regulate the size of the harvest and to determine the amount of any juice witheld from production into Champagne in order to maintain price stability.
The successful organization served as the model for the Consorzio of Italy and the Consejo Regulador of Spain.
[edit] Sources
- Phillips, Rod. A Short History of Wine. NY: HarperCollins, 2000.
- Robinson, Jancis (Ed.) The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1999.
