Appellation (FR. appellation) is a government standard that defines the wine-growing territory and required for the conditions of grape growing and methods of wine production. This is a key concept in the system of control of origin and quality of wine.
The meaning of the use of appellations is, first and foremost, to consolidate at the legislative level the rules and constraints under which the given territory is most interesting/successful from the point of view of a consumer, wine.
Thus, the manufacturer who made wine in compliance with the rules of the appellation and indicated it on the label, receives the product with predictable consumer qualities, which facilitates consumer choice in a sea of millions of bottles, guaranteeing the result.
…Would like to facilitate.
The irony is that when you specify the appellation, the French on the bottle is not accepted to specify “extra” information that is “sewn” in the rules of the appellation, such as: grapes, especially the aging (in barrelnot in a barrel) and so on. There is only the year, manufacturer and country of origin. But coupled with the appellation, gives a very concise and, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, a detailed description of the wine (in the case of small appellations) – on the condition that you are familiar with the rules of the appellations. If not very – smartphone to help you and the consultant, if you’re lucky.
Compliance with the rules of a particular appellation is certified by an appropriate inscription on the bottle. For example:
- France – AOC Appellation d’origine controlee
- Italy – DOC Denominazione di origine controllata
- Spain – DO Denominacion de Origen
Instead of the word “origine” or next to this inscription must indicate the name of the appellation:
Since the concept of “good” wine is, by definition, subjective and controversial, occasionally appear of the wine not conforming to the rules of their appellation, but commend the sommelier and the market. The success of such experiments can (and should) lead to change of rules of the existing appellations and new – so is their evolution: successful experiments form the rules that allow the best use of the potential of the region, its terroir.
The principle appellations of France resembles a matryoshka, large areas with its rules may include smaller (same appellations) with more strict rules, and those even smaller area (the same appellations) with more refined rules.
Example: “Chateau Margaux” is part of the appellation “Margaux”, which is part of the appellation “Haut-médoc” one of the appellations within Bordeaux, the biggest in this system that will not activate, and is among the 12 major wine regions of France, along with the Burgundy, Alsace etc.
The inscription Appellation Bordeaux Controlee on the label tells us that the contents made in compliance with the rules established by the state for the appellation (area) of Bordeaux.
The inscription Appellation Margaux Controlee already says that content not only meets the regulations of Bordeaux, but also more strict rules Margot.
If the manufacturer of the smallest appellation violates some rule, then it is given the appellation, the rules of which he missed. If he did not meet the rules of the largest of the appellation, within which is his farm, that he is not accorded the status of an AOC (i.e., the status of wines with controlled origin) and sold as “regional” or table wine. (see French wine classification). The smaller the appellation, the more predictable the contents of the bottle for the consumer and the higher its price “ceteris paribus”.
Control over observance of rules of the appellations by state authorities and / or international bodies. In addition, there are numerous consortia – voluntary associations of producers, which may impose additional requirements to create specific marketing niches inside the official appellations (see example of Spanish Pago).
The appellations of the different countries are at different stages of maturity. Thus, in France, changes happen significantly less frequently than in the younger system of appellations of Spain or Italy (see the phenomenon of the Super Tuscan or the history of Prosecco).