Jacques Gautier

Jacques Gautier is an agricultural engineer (Montpellier ENSA, class of 1980), holder of a degree in oenology and a postgraduate diploma (DESS) in Business Administration from the University of Bordeaux, he has worked for several decades at the INAO (French National Institute of Origin and Quality)

After holding several engineering positions both in the field and at the Institute’s headquarters, he also served for 12 years as head of the Bordeaux offices of the INAO, responsible for the geographical indications of that region.

His current duties as a national inspector focus particularly on initiatives aimed at adapting geographical indications to climate change. This includes work on the evolution of grape varieties authorized under geographical indications and the implementation of the VIFA procedure (“Varieties of Interest for Adaptation Purposes”) for wine PDOs/AOCs, which makes it possible to trial new grapevine varieties while still benefiting from AOC status.

He also coordinates the INAO Environment Commission, which works on updating specifications for all SIQOs (official French quality and origin labels), and acts as scientific liaison officer for relations with various scientific and technical organizations, including INRAE, technical institutes and higher education institutions.

In addition, he is deeply involved in the International Organization of Vine and Wine. In 2025, he was elected for a three-year term as President of the expert group on Sustainable Development and Climate Change, known by the acronym SUSTAIN, after having served as its Vice-President for six years. This group brings together international experts from the OIV’s 50 member states and works in particular on the development of the OIV Strategic Plan and on sustainability issues affecting the wine sector.