Appellation d'origine contrôlée

The defining technical and geographic factors are set forth in standards for each product, including wines, cheeses and meats.

The certification system is designed to protect distinctive and traditional regional products, based upon the concept of terroir.

Terroir refers to a given geographical area having specific environmental and human features that affect an agricultural product's key characteristics.

Some cover vast expanses with a variety of climatic and soil conditions, while others are small and highly uniform.

Under French law, it is illegal to manufacture and sell a product under one of the AOC-controlled geographical indications if it does not comply with the criteria of the AOC.

The origins of AOC date to 1411, when the production of blue Roquefort cheese was regulated by parliamentary decree.

[4] On 30 July 1935, the Comité National des appellations d'origine (CNAO) was created by representatives of the government and the major winegrowers to manage the administration of the AOC process for wines at the initiative of Joseph Capus.

[6] After World War II the Committee became the public-private Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO).

[9] Legislation concerning the way vineyards are identified makes recognizing the various AOCs very challenging for wine drinkers not accustomed to the system.

"[10] On the other hand, while the process of label approval is enforced to the millimetre, the quality control for the wine in the bottle is less strict.

This protection recognizes products that are the "result of a unique combination of human and environmental factors that are characteristic of a given territory.

Italy's Denominazione di Origine Controllata and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita followed the model set by the French AOC, and the EU standard for Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions (QWpsr) also corresponds closely.

Similarly, Germany's Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete is a wine classification system based on geographic region, but it differs from the AOC in important ways.

Part of the problem arises from the fact that European migrants to various countries marketed food products under the names referring to the places they came from (e.g. Parmesan, Rioja).

In such cases, bilateral agreements with other countries, whereupon the signatories agree to accord a special status to a list of designated products.

[20] For instance, in Canada, only Canadian wines can be VQA approved but other certification trademarks can be registered under the intellectual property regime.