Each country has specific rules and regulations that goven many particulars about where the wine is grown, what grapes can be used, etc.
FRANCE (Highest level to 3rd level)
AOP: Appellation d’Origine Protégée Began in 1937 starting with the 11 main regions of grape growing. (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, etc). The AOP specifies the grape varieties that can be used, the alcoholic content of a wine, aging requirements and more. This also further breaks down into
Special Classification Regional cru or classification
Commune Village ie: Saint Julien, Pouilly- Fusse, Montrachet
Sub Regional ie: Medoc, Macon-Villages
Regional ie: Bordeaux, Burgundy
IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée,) (Vine de Pays) Means country wine. It identifies six regional areas of France. Wines made from here, have to adhere to specific standards. They are not as strict as those from AOP, but all the wines still must be submitted for analsis and testing. Vine de Pays created in 1973 was replaced by IGP in 1979
Vin de France Basically means table wine. These wines are generally labeled by their grape varietal (ie Chardonnay), can not include a Controlle , but they can say that they are a product of France
ITALY
DOC: Denominazione di Origine Controllata
DOCG: Denominazione di Origine Controllata Garantita
First established in 1963 for the purpose of identifying and promoting the indigenous grape varietals use in Italian wines. This classification does not always identify the actual quality of the wine.
These wines are many times broken down further to
ClassicoNarrows down the specific region
Superiore Higher standards in the quality of the grape and minimum aging requirements.
Riserva Mainly refers to the extended aging of the wine and those made from exceptional vintage years
IGT : Indicazione Geografica Tipica
Created in 1992 to add wines that did not meet the DOC or DOCG standards but still had excellent regional characters. A perfect example of a IGT wine are the Super Tuscan. These wines are made from not only native Italian grapes, but from grapes known in other countries. The Super Tuscan generally are a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The two most famous Super Tuscan are Tignanello and Sassicaia which can be pricier than many DOC or DOCG wines.
VDT: Vino da Tavolo
Basically means table wine. These are the Italian wines you will see labeld Rosso or Bianco. There are not many rules or regulations that goven the production or bottling of these wines.
SPAIN
Denominación de Origen (DO)
Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP)
VINO de Pago Special vineyard classifications
DOP (DOC&DO)
DOC Rioja and Priorat
DO Mentrida, Bierzo
IGT / VDiT Castilla, Cordoba
Aging is critical to all Spanish Wines, especially Tempranillo
Tinto/Robo Little to no oak aging
Crianza Some Oak and bottle aging, Rioja requires 12 months
Reserva Has both Oak and Bottle aging , 1 year in oak, 2 years in bottle
Gran Reserva Extended aging 2 years in Oak 4 or more years in bottle
UNITED STATES
American Viticulture Area (AVA)
Began in 1980 to identify grape-growing area with unique geographic and cultural features that influence a wine’s taste and quality. AVAs can get confusing because they add Sub-AVAs into the mix, so there are really no geographic boundaries that are firmly established.
For example, Calistoga AVA is a sub AVA of Napa Valley AVA, which is a sub AVA of the North Coast AVA
One main restriction is for a wine to carry a AVA classification, the wine must have 85% of the grapes coming from a single AVA