SUR Ltd - Wine Importers of New Zealand

APPELLATION - A REGION WITH RULES
TEST
This word applies to wines from specified grape varieties grown in delimited zones and processed and aged following set methods, in order to meet high prescribed standards of colour, odour, flavour, alcohol content, acidity, yield, density, and so on in compliance with European Economic Community policies. It is, in short, a code of practice.

Europe identifies and label wine far more by region and vineyard than by grape variety. It is a culture which comes from a long winemaking heritage, and a system has evolved around this.

The essence of these factors is that a winemaker can use the regional name on the label only if the grapes come from within the region and the wine was grown and made according to the rules of that appellation. As an example, in Italy there are more than 900 distinct varieties or types of wine produced in nearly 240 DOC/Appellation zones.

Several countries have named and defined winemaking areas:

Spain : Denominacion de origen (DO) France : Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) Italy : Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)

The legal steps involved, from planting to making wine and selling it, are increasingly restrictive but work with a good degree of discipline. A curious fact is that some of Europe’s best wines are table wine made by producers who by chance or by choice work outside the rigid norms.