Coupage

French · blending (EU legal term)

Coupage is the EU term for mixing wines or musts of different origins, varieties, harvest years or categories; sweetening is not regarded as coupage.1

The legal term covers more ground than assemblage as Champagne uses it: building a cuvée from base wines of different crus, varieties and years.2 Sweetening has its own rules: see sweetening.

When wines of different years are mixed, EU labelling allows a vintage year only if at least 85% of the grapes were harvested in that year.3 See vintage rule and EU labelling.

See also

AssemblageGlossarysweeteningGlossaryvintage yearGlossaryLabel terms in EU lawMethods

Sources

  1. EUR-Lex. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/934 (oenological practices), Articles 7-8 and Annex I (2019-03-12)
  2. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)
  3. EUR-Lex. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (consolidated text), Articles 47, 48, 49, 53, 54 and Annex III Part A (2023-12-08)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19