AFTER LAST YEAR’S REJECTION, BURGUNDY AND CHAMPAGNE ARE OFFICIALLY ON THE SHORT LIST (AND NOT COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER) THAT THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT WILL PRESENT TO UNESCO FOR 2015

After being rejected last year Burgundy and Champagne are officially on the short list (and not competing against each other) that the French government will present to UNESCO for 2015.
The Ministry of Culture made the official announcement yesterday, following news releases in late 2013, as WineNews had reported, and the motivations are clear: "the vineyards of Burgundy and the cities of Dijon and Beaune will be promoted by focusing on their cultural significance, due to the uniqueness of the local vineyards enclosed by stone walls, the "clos", and the characteristic buildings". Aubert de Villaine, president of Climats du Vignoble de Bourgogne and co owner of Romanée-Conti, enthusiastically welcomes "this endorsement as we were very confident and are extremely happy now that it's official. It recognizes the quality of our nomination, which will now be analyzed by international organizations".

Champagne, instead, will be presented to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee as a cultural landscape, due to its topography, its wine producers and cellars, as well as its name that is inseparably linked to "celebration". In all, there are 14 reasons for the nomination: hills covered with vineyards, wine locations, underground cellars, just to mention a few, and enough, according to the Minister of Culture, "to meet the requirements of authenticity, integrity and history UNESCO requires in social and cultural terms".

The two nominations will not be competing in the same category. And, in June 2015 in Berlin, France might well end up with 3 winemaking terroirs recognized by UNESCO, as Saint- Émilion in Bordeaux has been UNESCO heritage since 1999.