A Burgundy winegrowers' union is to lobby the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) to promote two appellations to grand cru.

Wines from the Rugiens and Epenots regions of Burgundy and currently recognised by the French appellation authority as premier cru.

However, Aubert Lefas, president of the Pommard union which boasts around 400 members, insists the appellations should be upgraded, according to Decanter.

The 1936 classification did not put any Pommard terroirs at grand cru level.

"Back then, the main concern was wines that were falsely called Pommard, including sparkling wines," Mr Lefas told the publication.

But geography and viticulture specialist Blanche Menesson has been working with Pommard estates since April to produce a dossier which claims to prove that vineyards in Rugiens and Epenots should be considered grand cru.

The dossier will be submitted to the INAO early next year, but Mr Lefas told Decanter that he is confident that it "can convince our peers and the INAO that these two areas can be compared to Clos Vougeot and Le Corton, for example; both are large grand cru appellations with varying terroirs".

He goes on to explain that one only needs to look at the prices wine enthusiasts are willing to pay for wines from the two appellations in question in order to see that they stand out from other parts of Pommard.

"Their higher prices today – for the wines and vineyard plots – reflect that quality today," Mr Lefas added.

In response, the INAO has announced it will send a commission to verify the dossier's claims once it has been received.

There are 27 climats within the Pommard Appellation d'origine controlee that are classified as Premier Cru vineyards, including Les Grands-Epenots and Les Rugiens-Bas.

Pommard contains more than 321 hectares of vineyard and produces in excess of 1.7 million bottles of wine each year.