Publication of the communication of an approved standard amendment to a product specification of a geographical indication in accordance with Article 5(4) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27
Date: 2026-04-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: France, Loire Region, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, white wine








C_202602315EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/2315


20.4.2026






Publication of the communication of an approved standard amendment to a product specification of a geographical indication in accordance with Article 5(4) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27 (1)

(C/2026/2315)

COMMUNICATION OF APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

(Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143)


‘Muscadet’


EU reference number: PDO-FR-A0497-AM03 – 4.2.2026
                  

1.   Name of product

‘Muscadet’
2.   Geographical indication type







☑


PDO










☐


PGI










☐


GI




3.   Sector







☐


Agricultural products










☑


Wines










☐


Spirit drinks




4.   Country to which the geographical area belongs

France
5.   National authority communicating the standard amendment


Name

Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
6.   Qualification as standard amendment

The French authorities consider the application to meet the requirements of Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) 2024/1143.
The amendments to this product specification are standard amendments as defined in Article 24(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143.
The application for an amendment to the ‘Muscadet’ PDO does not involve any of the three situations constituting a Union amendment; specifically it does not:






(a)


include a change in the name or in the use of the name, or in the category of product or products designated by the geographical indication;










(b)


risk voiding the link to the geographical area;










(c)


entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.




The French authorities therefore consider that the application is for a standard amendment.
7.   Description of the approved standard amendment(s)


Title

Labelling

Description

The producer group for the PDO has decided to use a larger geographical unit to designate the wines, opting for the term ‘Vin de Loire’ instead of ‘Val de Loire’.
This development follows the communication guidelines adopted by the producers of Loire wines.
The aim is to make the identity clearer and bring it more into line with the reality of the wines made by producers in the Loire basin.






☑


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Addition of agri-environmental provisions

Description

Two agri-environmental provisions have been added to the product specification, namely a provision on control of vegetation between rows and a provision on altering the morphology of the subsoil. The aim is to enhance the sustainability of the designation to respond to climate change and society’s high expectations.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Start of harvest

Description

The producer group for the PDO wishes to abolish the harvest proclamation in order to simplify administrative management while maintaining a check on the ripeness of the grapes.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Racking

Description

Muscadet wines are kept in tanks, without racking, to preserve their freshness and aromas. They are marketed throughout the year following the harvest until the new vintage arrives, often in bag-in-box packaging. To take account of this and allow operators more flexibility, the racking date for Muscadet PDO wines has been pushed back from 31 July of year n+1 to 15 December of year n+1.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Reclassification

Description

A provision has been added to the specification in accordance with Article L644-7 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code to allow the ‘Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire’, ‘Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu’ and ‘Muscadet Sèvre et Maine’ PDOs to be reclassified as ‘Muscadet’ PDO. The provision allows this practice to be consolidated.






☑


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Trellising height

Description

The provision laying down a minimum or maximum height of the wires, depending on the trellising method, has been deleted. In the context of a warming climate this provision is no longer relevant to the designation. Foliage height, a factor in the fruit-to-leaf ratio, is sufficient.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Update of the Geographic Code

Description

The municipalities in the geographical area have been updated in accordance with the 2025 Official Geographic Code. This amendment does not change the geographical area of the designation.






☑


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Link

Description

The link section has been amended to bring up to date some information (number of operators, production areas, volumes) in the description of the human factors.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

Transitional measure

Description

The transitional measure regarding oenological practices and physical treatments expired in 2019. It has therefore been deleted from the product specification.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.





Title

References

Description

The contact details of the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) have been updated.
The provision on checking compliance with the product specification has been amended.






☐


The amendment affects the single document.




SINGLE DOCUMENT

Designations of origin and geographical indications of wines


‘Muscadet’


EU reference number: PDO-FR-A0497-AM03 – 4.2.2026
                  

1.   Name(s)

‘Muscadet’
2.   Geographical indication type







☑


PDO










☐


PGI










☐


GI




3.   Country to which the defined geographical area belongs

France
4.   Classification of the agricultural product in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature heading and code, as referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143


               2204  – wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must other than that of heading 2009
5.   Categories of grapevine product as listed in Part II of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013







1.


Wine




6.   Description of the wine(s)


Grapevine product

White wines

Organoleptic characteristics


Visual appearance

Wines with the designation ‘Muscadet’ are white.

Aroma/Nose

The wines acquire their main characteristics during vinification; they have fine and delicate aromas, usually fruity or floral.

Taste/Mouth

The wines have a balanced taste, generally dominated by freshness. The practice of ageing for a short period and early racking amplify the fruity and floral flavours formed under the action of yeasts during the alcoholic fermentation.

Additional information regarding organoleptic characteristics

—

Analytical characteristics







Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume)


—




Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume)


—




Minimum total acidity


—




Minimum total acidity unit


—




Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre)


—




Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)


—





Additional information regarding analytical characteristics

These are still, dry white wines.
They have:






—


a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 9,5 %;










—


a maximum fermentable sugar (glucose and fructose) content of 5 grams per litre;










—


a maximum volatile acid content of 10 milliequivalents per litre;










—


a maximum total alcoholic strength by volume after enrichment of 12 %;










—


a total acidity content of between 61 and 112 milliequivalents per litre for wines with a fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose) of between 3 and 5 grams per litre.




The wines’ total sulphur dioxide content and the total acidity content of wines with a fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose) of less than 3 grams per litre, as well as the wines’ total actual alcoholic strength, must comply with the thresholds laid down in EU legislation. These are still, dry white wines.






☑


Any analytical characteristics not indicated in this section are within the limits laid down in the applicable EU legislation.




7.   Winemaking practices

7.1.   Specific oenological practices used to make the wine or wines, relevant restrictions on making them


Winemaking practice

Planting density and pruning

Type of oenological practice

Cultivation method

Description

The minimum planting density is 5 000 vines per hectare. The distance between the rows is 2,20 metres or less, and the spacing between plants in the same row is between 0,90 and 1,10 metres. The vines are pruned to a maximum of 14 buds per plant: - either by spur pruning with a maximum of five spurs per plant; - or by means of simple or double Guyot. Pruning is carried out before the budding stage or stage 5 on the Eichhorn and Lorenz scale. Regardless of the pruning method, the vines can be pruned to four additional buds per plant on condition that, at the phenological stage corresponding to 11 or 12 leaves, there are no more than 14 fruit-bearing shoots per plant and per year.

Winemaking practice

—

Type of oenological practice

Specific oenological practice

Description

Any heat treatment of the harvest where the temperature falls below -5 °C is prohibited. After enrichment, the wines’ total alcoholic strength by volume must not exceed 12 %. The wines must be separated from their fine winemaking lees no later than on 31 July of the year following the harvest. In addition to the above, the oenological practices for these wines must meet the requirements laid down at EU level and in the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.
7.2.   Maximum yields


All wines / category / variety / type

White wines

Maximum yield







Maximum yield:


83




Maximum yield unit:


hectolitres per hectare




8.   Indication of the wine grape variety or varieties from which the wine or wines are produced







—


Chardonnay B










—


Melon B




9.   Concise definition of the demarcated geographical area

All stages of the production must take place within the geographical area approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality at the meeting of the relevant national committee on 15 June 2017. The perimeter of this area, on the date of approval of this specification by the relevant national committee, comprises the following municipalities or parts thereof, based on the 2025 Official Geographic Code:






—


Department of Loire-Atlantique:Aigrefeuille-sur-Maine, Ancenis-Saint-Géréon, Basse-Goulaine, Le Bignon, La Boissière-du-Doré, Bouaye, Brains, Carquefou, Le Cellier, La Chapelle-Heulin, Château-Thébaud, La Chevrolière, Clisson, Corcoué-sur-Logne, Couffé, Divatte-sur-Loire, Geneston, Gétigné (partly), Gorges, La Haie-Fouassière, Haute-Goulaine, Le Landreau, Legé (partly), Ligné (partly), La Limouzinière, Le Loroux Bottereau, Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, Mauves-sur-Loire, Monnières, Montbert, Mouzillon, Oudon, Le Pallet, La Planche, Pont-Saint-Martin, Port-Saint-Père, La Regrippière, La Remaudière, Remouillé, Saint-Aignan-Grandlieu, Saint-Colomban, Sainte-Pazanne, Saint-Fiacre-sur-Maine, Saint-Hilaire-de-Clisson, Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, Saint-Léger-les-Vignes, Saint-Lumine-de-Clisson, Saint-Lumine-de-Coutais, Saint-Mars-de-Coutais, Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, Les Sorinières, Thouaré-sur-Loire, Vair-sur-Loire, Vallet, Vertou, Vieillevigne (partly), Villeneuve-en-Retz (part of the delegated municipality of Bourgneuf-en-Retz only).










—


Department of Maine-et-Loire: Mauges-sur-Loire (delegated municipalities of La Chapelle-Saint-Florent and Saint-Florent-le-Vieil only), Orée d’Anjou (delegated municipalities of Bouzillé, Champtoceaux, Drain, Landemont, Liré and La Varenne only), Sèvremoine (delegated municipalities of Saint-Crespin-sur-Moine and Tillières only).










—


Department of Vendée: Cugand-la-Bernardière (part of the delegated municipality of Cugand only), Montaigu-Vendée (part of the delegated municipality of Saint-Hilaire-de-Loulay only), Rocheservière and Saint-Philbert-de-Bouaine.




The National Institute of Origin and Quality submits the maps establishing the boundaries of the geographical area thus approved to the town halls of the municipalities included in part. The maps can be found on the website of the National Institute of Origin and Quality.
2.   Demarcated parcel area

The wines must be made from grapes grown on parcels located in the production area as approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality at the meetings of the relevant national committee on 3 and 4 November 1994, 25 and 26 May 2000, 19 May 2011 and 20 June 2018.
The National Institute of Origin and Quality submits the maps establishing the boundaries of the parcels of the production area thus approved to the town halls of the municipalities listed in paragraph 1.
10.   Link with the geographical area


Category of grapevine product







1.


Wine





Summary of the link

The geographical area has a landscape characterised by slopes and hillocks planted with vines alternating with valleys of wooded meadows. The most scenic spots are home to old mills or country houses built by the local aristocracy or bourgeoisie on the outskirts of Nantes in the 18th century (known as ‘folies nantaises’). The vineyards are located mainly on hillsides south and east of the city of Nantes on the banks of the Rivers Loire, Sèvre and Maine, the Goulaine marshes, Lake Grandlieu and their tributaries. Located near the shores of the Atlantic, the geographical area has historical links with Brittany and is geographically linked to the Loire Valley, covering part of the departments of Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire and Vendée. The geographical area benefits from a maritime climate characterised by low annual temperature variations due to the large bodies of water in its vicinity (the ocean, the Loire estuary, Lake Grandlieu and the Goulaine marshes). Temperatures are particularly mild in winter, while the sea breezes keep summers cool. During the vine’s growing season rainfall is rather scarce, with plenty of sunshine for this latitude, although there are sometimes heavy rain showers during the high tides of autumn. The geographical area is geologically complex. In the Precambrian and Paleozoic eras, orogenesis led to the formation of plutonic rock (granite, gabbro) and metamorphic rock (gneiss, mica schist, eclogite, amphibolite). Locally, this bedrock is covered by tertiary sediments (clay and pebbly sand). Wind-blown silts deposited in the region in the Quaternary era are generally scoured by erosion. Despite this geological diversity, the soils that have formed on these layers are mostly brown and healthy, sandy and rich in pebbles. The well-established parcel area where the grapes are harvested follows the contours of hillsides forming open landscapes mainly or traditionally planted with vines. The parcels have well-filtered soils with a good heat-retaining capacity, a limited water-holding capacity and moderate chemical fertility. (b) Description of the human factors relevant to the link Winegrowing in the ‘Muscadet’ geographical area dates back to the first centuries A.D. As a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes soon established itself as an important hub from which wines were shipped to the British Isles and Northern Europe. Various documents testify to the wines’ growing renown during the Middle Ages. The vineyards around Nantes gradually started specialising in the production of white wines and spirits, driven in particular by trade with Holland. Taxation rules encouraged the planting of vines, as Brittany wines were taxed at a lower rate than those made further upstream on the Loire river. The winegrowing area really earned a name for itself with the development of the Melon B variety. The first written records of the name ‘Muscadet’ being used for this ‘Burgundy plant’ date back to the mid-17th century. After the harsh winter of 1709, which largely destroyed the Nantes vineyards, the region’s best locations were mostly replanted with the Melon B variety, which is more resistant to frost. The 1793 counter-revolutionary wars, during which vineyards were devastated, followed by the phylloxera crisis from 1884 onwards, merely delayed its rise. The restoration of vineyards by grafting provided an opportunity to adapt traditional growing methods to new techniques (planting in rows, Guyot pruning). Production expertise was consolidated through use of the Melon B variety, maintaining a high planting density, checking the vines’ growth and limiting their yield, and harvesting the grapes once fully ripened. Following regulation through case-law in the 1920s, these practices were validated by the recognition, in 1936, of the ‘Muscadet Sèvre et Maine’ and ‘Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire’ AOCs, followed by ‘Muscadet’ in 1937. Operators gradually put in place a technical winemaking procedure consisting in separating the wine from its fine winemaking lees at an early stage. This was to differentiate wines of the regional ‘Muscadet’ AOC from those of the smaller designations ‘Muscadet Sèvre et Maine’, ‘Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire’ and ‘Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu’. ‘Muscadet’ wines are still, white wines. The wines acquire their main characteristics during vinification; they have fine and delicate aromas, usually fruity or floral, and a balanced taste generally dominated by freshness. In his Étude des vignobles de France (Study of vineyards in France), Volume II, Paris, 1876, Jules Guyot wrote that ‘the Loire-Inférieur [as Loire-Atlantique was then called] has excellent soil and a marvellous climate’. Indeed, the geographical area benefits from soils well suited to winegrowing, combined with a climate that allows white grape varieties to express their aromatic character. Specifically, the coarse texture of the soils ensures an early start to the vine’s growth cycle as well as checking its growth. The mild winters also contribute to early ripening, with the summer sun and sea winds keeping the plants healthy. Furthermore, thanks to low water reserves and fracturing, the soils of the geographical area allow the plants to grow deep roots and provide them with a regular, moderate supply of water that ensures good ripening. Heirs to an age-long winegrowing tradition, producers in the geographical area have for over three centuries reserved the best slopes for growing the Melon B variety. They have optimised their winemaking practices to ensure a harvest of healthy, ripe grapes, with a subtle balance between richness and acidity that is reflected in the wines. Made in line with local tradition, the wines are often aged for a short period on their fine winemaking lees. The mild summer temperatures are ideal for preserving the freshness and delicate aromas that characterise the wines. The practice of ageing for a short period and early racking amplify the fruity and floral flavours formed under the action of yeasts during the alcoholic fermentation. Since the mid-20th century, ‘Muscadet’ has been a household name in France, where brand recognition and market penetration currently put wines with this protected designation of origin in second place among white wines. Exports picked up again during the 1980s and now account for almost 40 % of the volumes sold. Tourism has played an important part in this, as the winegrowing area is located close to the seaside and the wines go well with seafood and fish. By area in production, the ‘Muscadet’ winegrowing area is one of the world’s largest for white wines.
11.   Further applicable requirements


Title of the requirement/derogation

Area in immediate proximity

Legal framework

EU legislation

Type of further requirement/derogation

Packaging in the demarcated geographical area

Description of the requirement/derogation

The area in immediate proximity, defined by derogation for making and developing the wines, comprises the municipalities of the departments of Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire and Vendée listed in the product specification.
In accordance with Article 5(1) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, the area in immediate proximity corresponds to an area in the immediate proximity of the relevant demarcated area.

Title of the requirement/derogation

Labelling

Legal framework

National legislation

Type of further requirement/derogation

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the requirement/derogation

The name of the protected designation of origin may be followed by the term ‘primeur’ (‘early’) or ‘nouveau’ (‘new’) for wines that meet the production conditions laid down in the specification regarding these terms. The name of the protected designation of origin may be followed by the geographical designation ‘Vin de Loire’ in accordance with the rules on the use of this designation laid down in the specification. The words ‘primeur’ or ‘nouveau’ and the geographical designation ‘Vin de Loire’ must appear in letters smaller than or the same size (in height, width and thickness) as the letters forming the name of the protected designation of origin. For wines labelled ‘primeur’ or ‘nouveau’, the vintage must also appear on the label.

Electronic reference (URL) to the publication of the product specification


https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/boagri/document_administratif-e435f8dc-85b9-4172-ac00-637750581682



(1)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27 of 30 October 2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council with rules concerning the registration and the protection of geographical indications, traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (OJ L, 2025/27, 15.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/27/oj).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2315/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)