An appellation is a legally defined and protected
geographical indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
primarily used to identify where the
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
s for a
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, such as what grapes may be grown, maximum grape yields, alcohol level, and other quality factors may also apply before an appellation name may legally appear on a wine bottle label. The rules that govern appellations are dependent on the country in which the wine was produced.
History
The tradition of wine appellation is very old. The oldest references are to be found in the Bible, where ''wine of
Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
'', ''wine of
Carmel'', ''wine of
Jezreel'', or ''wine of
Helbon'' are mentioned. This tradition of appellation continued throughout the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, though without any officially sanctioned rules. Historically, the world's first exclusive (protected) vineyard zone was introduced in
Chianti
A Chianti wine (, also , ) is any wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a ''fiasco'' ("flask"; ''pl. fiaschi''). However, the ''fiasco'' is ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in 1716 and the first wine classification system in
Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj wine region ( hu, Tokaji borvidék sk, Vinohradnícka oblasť Tokaj) or Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region (short ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'' or ''Hegyalja'') is a historical wine region located in northeastern Hungary and southeastern Slovakia. It is also ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, in 1730.
Europe
France
In 1935, the
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes ca ...
(INAO), a branch of the
French Ministry of Agriculture, was created to manage wine-processing in France. In the
Rhone wine region Baron Pierre Le Roy Boiseaumarié, a lawyer and winegrower from
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; Provençal: Castèu-Nòu-De-Papo) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avi ...
, obtained legal recognition of the
Côtes du Rhône appellation of origin in 1937. The AOC seal, or
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...
, was created and mandated by French laws in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Before 1935, despite the fact that the INAO was yet to be created,
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
enjoyed an appellation control by virtue of
legal protection as part of the
Treaty of Madrid. The treaty stated that only sparkling wine produced in
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
and adhering to the standards defined for that name as an
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...
could be called champagne. This right was reaffirmed in the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Germany
Germany is unusual among wine-producing countries in that its most prestigious classifications, the various grades of
Prädikatswein, are based on the
ripeness of the grapes
In viticulture, ripeness is the completion of the ripening process of wine grapes on the vine which signals the beginning of harvest. What exactly constitutes ripeness will vary depending on what style of wine is being produced ( sparkling, still ...
, though their geographical origins are also legally defined. Thus Germany's geographical classification,
Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete
The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approxi ...
(QbA), is akin to France's defunct
Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure
Vin or VIN may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Vîn TV, a Kurdish language satellite television channel founded in 2007
* '' Vos Iz Neias?'', an American Jewish online news site
* Coastal radio station VIN Geraldton (callsign), a sta ...
, which has been subsumed into the current
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...
system.
Georgia
Georgia has 24 registered
wine appellations.
Hungary
Historically, the world's first vineyard classification system was introduced in
Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj wine region ( hu, Tokaji borvidék sk, Vinohradnícka oblasť Tokaj) or Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region (short ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'' or ''Hegyalja'') is a historical wine region located in northeastern Hungary and southeastern Slovakia. It is also ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, in 1730.
Vineyards were classified into three categories depending on the soil, sun exposure, and potential to develop ''
Botrytis cinerea
''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" o ...
''. The subdivisions were: first-class, second-class and third-class wines. A decree by the Habsburg crown in 1757 established a closed production district in
Tokaj
Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced.
History
The wine-growing area w ...
. The classification system was completed by the national censuses of 1765 and 1772.
Italy
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
's first origin classification system was introduced in
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
in 1716 for delimiting
Chianti
A Chianti wine (, also , ) is any wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a ''fiasco'' ("flask"; ''pl. fiaschi''). However, the ''fiasco'' is ...
production. After the
unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
several attempts were made to introduce some kind of protection for wine appellations, to no avail. Only in 1963 the "
Denominazione di origine controllata
The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine:
* ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”),
* ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...
" law was approved, starting with 1967 vintage.
Portugal
The world's third-oldest appellation control, after
Chianti
A Chianti wine (, also , ) is any wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a ''fiasco'' ("flask"; ''pl. fiaschi''). However, the ''fiasco'' is ...
and
Tokaj
Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced.
History
The wine-growing area w ...
, was introduced in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
in 1756, pertaining to
port wine
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
, which was produced in the region of the Douro valley.
Spain
Some Spanish wines were already famous or even regulated (
Rioja: 1925;
Sherry
Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...
: 1933) when the market started being regulated. It was not until 1980 that legislation on
denominación de origen was stablished, following the French scheme with more tiers of classification and prompted by the impending accession to the European Union.
North America
Canada
Canadian wine
Canadian wine is wine produced in Canada. Ontario and British Columbia are the two largest wine-producing provinces in Canada, with two-thirds of the Canada's vineyard acreage situated in Ontario. However, wine producing regions are also present i ...
appellations are regulated by the
Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems i ...
system. The system covers the provinces of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
.
British Columbia is divided into four "Designated Viticultural Areas" ("DVAs"):
Okanagan Valley
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is p ...
,
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
,
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...
, and the
Similkameen Valley. Ontario includes three DVAs:
Niagara Peninsula,
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
North Shore, and
Prince Edward County.
On June 11, 2012,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
launched its first appellation, Tidal Bay.
United States
The
American Viticultural Area ("AVA") is for the United States. The only requirement to use an AVA name on the wine label is that 85% of the wine must have come from grapes grown within the geographical AVA boundaries. The first AVA was in
Augusta, Missouri
Augusta is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 253 at the 2010 census. The city boasts wineries, antique shops, restaurants, B&B's, a wood shop, a glass studio, massage therapy, a historic museum and The Au ...
, in June 1980. The approval of the
Augusta AVA
The Augusta AVA was established on June 20, 1980 as the first federally approved American Viticultural Area, eight months before the Napa Valley AVA in northern California. The petition was submitted by Clayton W. Byers and Lucian W. Dressel, r ...
was based largely on its long historical relationship with wine in the United States.
The Augusta wine-growing area is a plot of land along the Missouri River, which moderates temperature and provides an appropriate climate for growing grapes.
States or counties can also be used in lieu of an AVA to designate the origin of a wine, provided that 75% of the grapes used in the wine are grown in the state or county listed on the label.
List of appellations
* European Union:
Protected Designation of Origin
** Austria:
Districtus Austriae Controllatus
Districtus Austriae Controllatus (Latin for ''Controlled District of Austria''), DAC, is a classification for regionally typical quality wine (legal categoryQualitätswein) in Austria. It is loosely modelled on the French ''Appellation d'Origine ...
** Cyprus: Ελεγχόμενη Ονομασία Προέλευσης
** France:
Appellation d'origine contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...
** Germany:
German wine classification
The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approxi ...
** Greece: ονομασία προελεύσεως ελεγχομένη
** Italy:
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine:
* ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”),
* ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...
** Luxembourg: Appellation contrôlée
** Portugal:
Denominação de Origem Controlada
** Romania:
Denumire de Origine Controlată
** Spain:
Denominación de origen protegida
* Switzerland:
Appellation d'origine contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...
* Australia: Australian Geographical Indications
[ Australian Geographical Indications]
* Argentina:
Denominación de origen - see also:
Argentine wine
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 300-301 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. Dur ...
* Canada:
Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems i ...
* Brazil:
Denominação de Origem
* Chile: ''see
Chilean wine
Chilean wine has a long history for a New World wine region, as it was the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought ''Vitis vinifera'' vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-19th century, French wine varieties s ...
''
* South Africa:
Wine of Origin
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Produc ...
* United Kingdom:
Protected Denomination of Origin
Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...
* United States:
American Viticultural Area
See also
*
Protected Designation of Origin
*
Terroir
(, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...
*
*
Notes and references
External links
Appellation America Wine Portal Information about recognize
wine appellationsin the United States and Canada.
{{Authority control
Wine terminology