🏷️ Appellation d'origine contrôlée

AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) is the top French category of wine. The name means "controlled designation of origin". It strictly defines where, from which grapes and how the wine is made. The system was created in the 1930s. Each appellation has its own rules. They set the place, permitted grapes, maximum yield, minimum strength, and the method of growing and ageing. The national institute INAO oversees them. France has more than 360 wine AOCs. They come in different sizes: from regional ones such as Bourgogne to village ones, and from premier cru to grand cru, the narrowest. In the European system AOC corresponds to the PDO category. Below it on the scale are IGP wines, regional wines. There used to be another category, VDQS, but it was abolished. In Burgundy there is a hierarchy: regional, village, premier cru and grand cru. In Beaujolais the crus of Beaujolais are singled out. AOC is a guarantee of place and method, not of quality: good and mediocre wines exist in every category. For a buyer it is first of all a way to learn the origin.