Wine 101: What is an AOC? (Part 1)

The ‘Appellation d‘Origine Controlée’ (AOC) is an official French label to protect its geographical origin and specific characteristics. It is regulated by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), which operates under the Ministry of Agriculture. It was created in the late 1920’s in the Rhone Valley initially to separate the highest quality wines from the lower ones.

It is now also used for other products like cheeses, fruits or honey. Due to its long history & tradition, the AOC has a tight control on the labeling of wines; AOC wines need to come from a specific area of production, using only authorized grapes varietals – single or blended. These grapes have to be grown using specific techniques (e.g. no irrigation allowed) or with a limitation of volume of grapes grown per hectare.

As you go down the classification chart, the rules are not as strict and winemakers have more liberty. So AOCs and other European wines are more of a display of a region rather than the grape itself, like it is often labelled in the ‘New World’.

Stay tuned for our next Wine 101: "What is an AOC? (Part II)" to learn more about the specific classifications used and what they mean.