{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2009-387/annex-II/division-SUMMARY/division-4/division-4.6",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2009-387/annex-II/division-SUMMARY/division-4/division-4.6.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2009/387",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Regulation (EC) No 387/2009 of 12 May 2009 approving minor amendments to the specification of a name registered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage (PDO))",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2009-387",
  "path": "annex/II/division/SUMMARY/division/4/division/4.6",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "4.6",
  "heading": "Link",
  "text": "Evidence of this cheese being made in the Massif du Vercors goes back to the 14th century. In a deed of June 1338, Baron Albert de Sassenage granted the local people complete freedom to sell their cheese. Many written accounts attest to its renown, including Pierre Larousse’s Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIX which mentions that King François I was very fond of it. The cheese was made on farms in the traditional way up until the early years of the 20th century. In 1933, a dairy began making the cheese following the traditional formula. More recently, farm production has been enjoying a new boom.\nThe Massif du Vercors is a well-defined mass of limestone which stands 1 000 metres above the surrounding plains. It is characterised by long, cradle-shaped wet valleys and cirques and closed coombs overlooked by cliffs. The Vercors has a mountain climate: the summers are short, it is always cool at night, autumn comes early and snow may start falling in October and remain until April or May. The climate is softened by the mitigating effects of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The altitude, the clay-limestone soil and the fairly wet mountain climate make the pastures on this massif especially good. This combination of factors also give the Massif du Vercors its specific character from a botanical point of view. The diverse types of landscape in this natural environment mean that different, complementary areas of pasture can be grazed, offering abundant supplies of excellent quality nourishment. This forms the basis of the herd’s diet and gives the milk, hence the cheese, its typical characteristics.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2009/387/annex/II/division/SUMMARY/division/4/division/4.6",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:51:31.521134+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}