Here's a bit from today's SFGate.com:
Ready for "French wine," with one of those black-and-white generic supermarket labels?
It's not quite that drastic. But -- Holy terroir, Batman! -- French vintners, who typically live and die by the place-names on their wines, are nearing approval to blend together grapes from far-flung corners of the country.
The Vignobles de France designation was approved Jan. 17 by Viniflhor, the national office that oversees wine production and other horticulture, and awaits the signature of France's agriculture minister. The move, designed to ease blending of wines to match consumer tastes, would allow French "vin de pays" to mix, say, lean Chardonnay from Burgundy with riper fruit from southern vineyards. Currently, such wines can't even include the grape name on the label.
Not everyone is raising a glass to cheer. Winemakers in the Languedoc-Roussillon region worry the move will ruin their recent push to sell varietally labeled bottles under the "Vin de Pays d'Oc" designation.
Referring page here: Sipping News
There's more on the topic here: Vignobles de France, but one needs to be able to parler français to read the article.