René Renou, the president of the Institut National des Appellations d'Orgine (INAO), and one of the most influential men in French winemaking, has died aged 54.

Renou goes down as one of the great reforming characters in the French wine industry and was overseeing one of the most turbulent chapters in the INAO's history.

He was in the middle of effecting deep reaching changes, first attempted two years ago, and which had just been introduced early this month.

Recognising that the sheer number of Appellation d'Origine Controllées (AOCs) had become confusing for the consumer, he was attempting to divide the offer in two – a top category to remain as AOC for wines of excellence to be made under very strict conditions, and a second to be known as Appellation Controllée (AC) with more relaxed rules of production.

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