Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

The French designation Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), roughly translated to 'term of origin', is a certification granted to certain French wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products by a government bureau known as the 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 names if it does not comply with the criteria of the AOC.

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.

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.

A more detailed discussion of various classification schemes can be found in the article on First Growths.

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.