An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication 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,

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, 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 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, 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 system.

Georgia

Georgia has 24 registered wine appellations.

Hungary

Historically, the world's first vineyard classification system was introduced in Tokaj-Hegyalja,

, in 1730. Vineyards were classified into three categories depending on the soil, sun exposure, and potential to develop '' Botrytis cinerea''. 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. The classification system was completed by the national censuses of 1765 and 1772.

Italy

'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

production. After the unification of Italy 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

and Tokaj, 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 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,

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 ** Cyprus: Ελεγχόμενη Ονομασία Προέλευσης ** France: Appellation d'origine contrôlée ** 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 * Australia: Australian Geographical Indications Australian Geographical Indications * Argentina: Denominación de origen - see also: Argentine wine * Canada: Vintners Quality Alliance * 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

Notes and references

External links

Appellation America Wine Portal
Information about recognize
wine appellations
in the United States and Canada. {{Authority control Wine terminology