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Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), which roughly translates as "term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, by the government bureau Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). Under French law, it is illegal to manufacture and sell a product under one of the AOC-controlled geographical indications if it does not comply with the criteria of the AOC. A geographical indication (sometimes abbreviated to GI) is a name or sign used on a particular product which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (eg. ...
A glass of red wine This article is about the beverage. ...
Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of various animals—most commonly cows but sometimes goats, sheep, reindeer, and water buffalo. ...
Balls of butter on a plate Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh cream. ...
All AOC products are identified by a seal, which is printed on the label or the rind (in the case of an AOC cheese). To prevent any possible misrepresentation, no part of an AOC name may be used on a label of a product not qualifying for that AOC. However, many producers are located in towns where the AOC is the name of the town, and thus are enjoined from listing anything more than a cryptic postal code.
Criteria
The controlled term of origin guarantees the following product criteria: - The product will be produced consistently in the traditional manner.
- It will be produced with ingredients from a designated geographical area, and will be made and at least partially aged in this area.
- The characteristics of the product will be consistent and in line with a clearly defined standards.
- The production is strictly regulated by a control commission following AOC-defined standards.
History The origins of AOC date back to the 15th century, when Roquefort was regulated by a parliamentary decree. The first modern law was set on May 6, 1919 when the Law for the Protection of the Place of Origin was passed, specifying the region and commune that a given product must be manufactured in, and has been revised on many occasions since then. On July 30, 1935, the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), a branch of the French Ministry of Agriculture, was created to manage the administration of the process for wines. The AOC seal was created and mandated by French laws in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. On July 2, 1990, the scope of work of the INAO was extended beyond wines to cover other agricultural products. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...
Roquefort is a flavorful ewes-milk bleu cheese from the south of France. ...
May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ...
1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ...
1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ...
1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Wine Certain AOCs for wine are recognized as being superior to others as first established by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Typically these are variations on "cru," the French word for growth, and depend on the region. In general, wines called "Grand Cru" are at the top of the quality hierarchy, with "premiers crus" one level below. Beneath these are simple named places. Depending on the region, a cru might be assigned to an estate or to a legally-defined vineyard area. While in theory a Grand Cru should be the finest expression of its site, it is generally a more accurate indicator of price than quality. For the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for Frances best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world. ...
A vineyard A vineyard is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table grapes. ...
A more detailed discussion of various classification schemes can be found in the article on First Growths. First Growth (French Premier Cru) status refers to the greatest wines of the Bordeaux region. ...
Cheese In 1925, Roquefort became the first cheese to be awarded an AOC label, and since then over 40 cheeses have been assigned AOC status, with the most recent, Banon, being awarded the status in 2003. Roquefort is a flavorful ewes-milk bleu cheese from the south of France. ...
- List of Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheeses
Since the Appellation_dOrigine_Contrôlée status was first accorded to Roquefort in 1925, around 40 French cheeses have been awarded AOC status, controlling the production and origin of the cheese in question. ...
Other countries Many other countries have based their controlled place name systems on AOC. See: Denominazione di origine controllata is an Italian quality ensurance label for food products and especially wines (an appellation). ...
Denominación de origen is a quality ensurance and labelling system for Spanish wines (an appellation). ...
Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete, more commonly abbreviated to QbA, is a category in the German wine classification, reserved for riper grapes than Deutscher Tafelwein and Deutscher Landwein but lower quality than Prädikat wines. ...
See also Protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) are classifications defined in European Union Law to protect regional foods. ...
The European Union is unique among international organisations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ...
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a delimited grape-growing region distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the United States governments Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. ...
External link - INAO website (http://www.inao.gouv.fr)
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