René Bernard Renou (16 June 1952 – 19 June 2006) was president of the

Institut National des Appellations d'Origine An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

(INAO) at the time of his death and was "one of the most influential men in French winemaking.". Renou argued that France's ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

'' (AOC) system was hindering the country's competitiveness in the world wine market. He said that the AOC system was "conceived for producers rather than consumers", that there are too many AOCs, they are not meaningful, that they confuse consumers, and that reform was essential. His proposals for reform met strong resistance and defense of the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

. ''BettaneDesseauve'' named Renou Man of the Year in 2005. He was a Chevalier de la

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and Commander in the Ordre du Mérite Agricole. The René Renou winery is located in the

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

district of the

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

wine region, and makes wine from

Coteaux du Layon Coteaux du Layon () is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for sweet white wine in the Loire Valley wine region of France. Coteaux du Layon is situated in the Anjou district of the region, along the river Layon, which is a tributary of ...

and other AOCs.

References

French winemakers 1952 births 2006 deaths Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit {{France-bio-stub

See also

References