The second concept refers to the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) replaced by the Appellation d’rigin Protégée (AOP) system in 2012. This is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines by the French government bureau, Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO).
The Appellation rules closely define:
- which grape varieties and wine-making practices are approved for classification;
- in accordance with France’s several hundred geographically defined appellations;
- appellations can refer to entire regions, individual villages or even specific vineyards.