What do AOC, DOC and DOCG mean on a wine label?

The protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication are European quality labels of origin. The designation of origin sets the strictest requirement, because all the grapes must come from the area.

Both are laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, which provides that a name is only protected once it is recognised and registered in the Union. For a geographical indication, at least 85 percent of the grapes must come from the area. AOC, AOP, DOC, DOCG, DO and DOCa are the national names that fit that European framework.

AOC is the French national recognition and a mandatory intermediate step before a name enters the European register as AOP. Only wine products may continue to use the designation AOC.

The INAO manages the French system. The core is that all production steps take place in the same geographical area, according to recognised craftsmanship that gives the product its characteristics. The requirements are set out in a cahier des charges, drawn up by the producers themselves and approved at European level.

An appellation sets out in which area the grapes grow, which varieties are permitted, how much may be harvested per hectare, which alcohol content applies and how long maturation lasts.

The French dossier contains, among other things, the name, the description of the wine, the permitted oenological practices, the delimitation of the area, the maximum yield, the permitted grape varieties and the substantiation of the link with the area. In addition, cultivation methods, harvest, ripeness, alcohol content, maturation and storage may be regulated, plus the name of the inspection body.

DOC and DOCG are both Italian designations for a protected designation of origin. DOCG is the strictest category: every DOCG bottle gets the state seal, with DOC that is far from always the case.

The Italian Ministry of Agriculture counts DOC and DOCG both among the traditional designations that point to a designation of origin; IGT belongs with the geographical indication. The difference lies in the control. The state seal, the fascetta, is described by the ministry as a guarantee for national top productions.

Spain has Denominación de Origen and Denominación de Origen Calificada. Both fall under the European protected designation of origin, as does Vino de Pago.

In that list, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture also mentions Vino de Calidad con indicacion geografica. The basis is Spanish law 6/2015, which rests on the same European regulation. Anyone reading a Spanish, French or Italian label is therefore looking at three national wordings of the same European system.