What does the label abbreviation RC: Récoltant-Coopérateur refer to?

• A. A label for a single estate wine.
• B. A label for a private label.
• C. Récoltant-Coopérateur.
• D. Term referring to a cooperative cellar.

Answer: (C)

RC identifies a grower who cooperates with a winery. It stands for Récoltant-Coopérateur: the producer grows the grapes and supplies them to a cooperative, which handles the winemaking and bottling in its cellar, while the label may carry the grower’s name or brand. This is different from a Récoltant-Manipulant, where the grower makes and bottles wine in their own winery, and from a Négociant-Manipulant, where a house buys grapes or must and bottles under its own label. The RC designation signals that the wine comes from a grower who uses a cooperative facility to produce the wine.