Restructuring & insolvency lawyer — Wine estates, vineyards & wine trade sector

Mac Mahon Avocats is a Paris business law firm at 33 avenue Mac-Mahon, Paris 17. Its lawyers advise wine estates, vineyards & wine trade businesses on prevention of difficulties, out-of-court procedures, formal insolvency proceedings and distressed disposals under French law. This page sets out the applicable legal framework; it does not constitute legal advice.

Sector scope

Wine estates and châteaux, owned or tenant-farmed vineyards, cooperative cellars and unions, wine and spirits trading and broking houses, distilleries, bottling and export companies, and vineyard land-holding vehicles.

Sector context

Viticulture combines high-value land, slow-moving inventory — ageing wines tie up cash for years — and income exposed to climate hazards and shifting consumption. Estates are often structured between an operating company and a land-holding vehicle owning the vines, so the perimeters must be distinguished where difficulties arise. The legal framework combines rural law (long-term farm leases, tenancy status), appellation rules (INAO, AOC and PGI specifications) and insolvency law, with the specific requirement of a prior agricultural amicable settlement for farmers.

Key legal issues

Agricultural status and applicable procedure: viticulture is an agricultural activity under Art. L. 311-1 of the Rural Code; the agricultural amicable settlement (Arts. L. 351-1 et seq.) in principle precedes formal proceedings.
Separation of operations and land: operating company, vineyard land-holding vehicle and long-term farm lease; risk of extension of proceedings where assets are commingled (Art. L. 621-2 Commercial Code).
Farm lease: tenancy status, renewal rights, termination for unpaid rent and the effect on operating value.
Wine inventory: stock financing, agricultural warrants, pledges and storage and ageing contracts; inventory valuation is decisive for the plan.
Appellations and planting rights: compliance with AOC/PGI specifications, planting authorisations (EU Regulation No. 1308/2013) and the consequences of a change of operator.
En primeur sales and distribution contracts: sums collected in advance, exclusivity agreements with merchants and importers, and termination clauses triggered by proceedings.
Climate hazards and insurance: frost, hail and drought, compensation schemes and aid, and treatment of exceptional income in the plan.
Seasonal labour: harvest contracts, vineyard works contractors, employee claims and AGS involvement.

How a matter is handled

Diagnosis: review of available cash, due and payable liabilities, tax and social security instalments and existing security, in order to establish whether cessation of payments is characterised (Art. L. 631-1 Commercial Code).
Choice of procedure: arbitration between confidential out-of-court tools (ad hoc mandate, conciliation) and formal proceedings, in light of the sector's own timetable.
Negotiation: discussions with banks, strategic suppliers, the AGS wage guarantee scheme, the tax authorities and URSSAF, and where relevant before the CCSF.
Implementation: preparation of the filing, representation before the commercial courts, monitoring of the observation period, and preparation of the plan or of the sale.

French procedures at a glance

Procedure	Entry condition	Duration	Legal basis
Ad hoc mandate	No cessation of payments	Set by the court president, renewable	Art. L. 611-3 Commercial Code
Conciliation	Actual or foreseeable difficulties; cessation of payments for 45 days at most	4 months + 1 month	Arts. L. 611-4 to L. 611-16
Safeguard	Insurmountable difficulties, no cessation of payments	Observation period 6 months, extendable to 12	Art. L. 620-1 et seq.
Rehabilitation	Cessation of payments, recovery possible	Observation period up to 18 months	Art. L. 631-1 et seq.
Liquidation	Cessation of payments, recovery manifestly impossible	Variable; business continuation 3 months, renewable	Art. L. 640-1 et seq.

A declaration of cessation of payments must be filed within 45 days of that state arising, unless a conciliation request is filed within the same period (Art. L. 631-4 of the French Commercial Code).

Frequently asked questions

Can a wine estate enter safeguard or rehabilitation proceedings?

Yes. Book VI proceedings are open to persons carrying on an agricultural activity. For farmers, the petition is normally preceded by a referral to the court president for an amicable settlement (Arts. L. 351-1 et seq. of the Rural Code).

Are vines held by a land-holding vehicle affected by the operating company's proceedings?

Not in principle: proceedings against the operating company do not automatically extend to the landowner. Extension requires proof of commingling of assets or a sham entity (Art. L. 621-2 Commercial Code).

Can wine stocks be sold during the observation period?

Sales of stock may fall within ordinary management or require authorisation from the supervising judge depending on the nature of the transaction. Security over stock, in particular agricultural warrants, must be identified before any realisation.

Is an appellation transferred with the estate?

The appellation attaches to the delimited area and compliance with its specification, not to the operator. A purchaser must meet the specification requirements and make the required filings with the competent bodies.

Contact

Phone: +33 1 45 03 20 20
Email: accueil@macmahon-avocats.fr
Address: 33 avenue Mac-Mahon, 75017 Paris, France