The Saint-Vulbas nuclear power plant in Ain is often referred to as the “Bugey power station” and this is obviously not to everyone’s liking. For several years now, Bugey winegrowers have considered that the name of the plant has undermined the reputation of their appellation.
reset dialog
“We want to protect our controlled designation of origin,” explains the president of the Bugey wine union since 2018, Jean-Luc Guillon, to the Progress. We want to re-establish a dialogue around the name of the plant with the aim of changing its name.”
In 2012, a similar request was made and winegrowers decided to revive the debate following the government’s recent decision to choose the Bugey site to house two new EPR2 reactors. “We are a small appellation of origin: 80 AOC members for 500 ha. Very often, we meet customers, in France and abroad, who tell us about the plant. People quickly associate the plant and the vineyard” , they affirm. he Parisian.
“We are not anti-nuclear”
The latter evoke the bad press affecting the Tricastin factory in the Drôme and which led neighboring producers to create the new name “Grignan-les-Adhémar” instead of “Côteaux du Triscastin”. “We are not anti-nuclear. On the contrary. It’s just a name change,” Jean-Luc Guillon declared to the Parisian, recalling that his AOC designation predates the plant’s birth.
According to him, the mayor of Saint-Vubas, the municipality where the plant is located, would agree to change the name of the plant to that of municipality. The president of the Bugey wine union assures that he wants to start talks with the new management of the nuclear power plant before starting a procedure.
Source: BFM TV
