h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I live in the Loire Valley and have recently planted 160 new vines on my land, the same varieties as grown by the neighbouring vineyards that surround us. The vines are in their second year, and I had intended to plant another 300 vines until a vigneron friend pointed out that there are some strict rules in France on new plantation - even though I only plan to produce wine for family consumption. I felt stupid not knowing this, especially after reading so many hundreds of vine growing books where these laws are never mentioned.

I have seen the "Droits de Plantation" (for consommation familiale) website information from the Office National Interprocessionnel des vins, but after only being here a couple of years, my French is not at a great standard, and I only partly understand the information.

Can anyone help me as to what these rights exactly mean to someone like myself, and are there any loopholes (ie, if the land was once used for vinegrowing). It would be absolutely gutting if I have to pull up all my beautifully kept vines, especially after all the hard work I have so far put into them.