Funny wine names #1: Vin de Merde

Vin de Merde is an actual name of a wine. Jean-Marc Speziale, who owns a small restaurant in Aniane near Montpellier, was so fed up with the bad press that wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon were getting that he decided to hit back.

So he started making his own batch of wine, and labelled them Vin de Merde, or Wine of Shite as we say in Ireland.

Le Vin de Merde

I haven’t tried the rosé but his red is not bad. Nothing out of the ordinary, and it won’t win any medals yet, but certainly not crap, and Jean-Marc has a point.

“This draws attention to the fact that we make very good wines,” he says.

The first batch of 5,000 bottles caused quite a stire, and are all sold out (at around €7 a bottle!). So he went back to his neighbours and bought another load of grapes.

This time he has been even more cheeky: he put up the price to about double what locals would pay for an ordinary table wine.

Once again he has sold out almost everything he has in his cave (garage).

Here’s an interview with him (in French) on YouTube

Wines of the Languedoc

The Languedoc has around 700,000 acres under vines (sorry, we Irish still have problems getting around the metric system when it comes to land). It’s the single biggest wine-producing region in the world, and is responsible for more than a third of France’s total wine production.

At the beginning of the decade it produced more wine than the entire United States. Quite a lot of that is, admittedly, plonk.

At the beginning of the industrial revolution a lot of production shifted towards le gros rouge: mass produced, cheap red wine to satisfy the growing proletariat. After Algerian independence they could no longer mix these cheap, thin wines with the more full-bodied Algerian imports.

By the 1970s, things were bad. But standards today are definitely improving. With its fantastic terroir, the area makes a wide variety of fantastic wines, from Minervois and Corbières to Fitou and Picpoul, not forgetting the sparkling Blanquette de Limoux, a champagne type of delight.

Where to contact Jean-Marc

Jean-Marc Speziale
Le Vin de Merde
2AE Les terrasses
36150 Aniane
His restaurant’s website (a bit out of date I’m afraid)

Les vignobles du Languedoc souffrent encore de leur mauvaise réputation alors que la qualité du vin a considérablement évolué. Pour se faire remarquer, un producteur a appelé son vin le “Vin de Merde”. Succès garanti.
- France 24, 9 October 2008