AOC vs. AOP

The other day I saw the term AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protegee) on a Cotes-du-Rhone wine label for the first time. Is this just a new name for AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controllee) or is it something different?

-Paul W.

AOP is a Europe-wide classification, whereas AOC is conferred by the French government.

AOP is a Europe-wide classification, whereas AOC is conferred by the French government.

Yes. AOP has effectively superseded AOC on French labels. AFAIK their territorial definitions are identical.

There are various AOP vs. AOC, etc. crossover tables and references online. The most helpful one I have is in the CSW Study Guide, but it is out of date.

+1 that AOP and AOC are virtually identical. Each country seems to have their nuances.

IMHO some of France and all of Germany is still challenging but I work through it . Part of the journey.

[David M. Bueker]

There are various AOP vs. AOC, etc. crossover tables and references online. The most helpful one I have is in the CSW Study Guide, but it is out of date.

+1 that AOP and AOC are virtually identical. Each country seems to have their nuances.

IMHO some of France and all of Germany is still challenging but I work through it . Part of the journey.

What’s challenging about Germany? It’s easy-peasy (for me).

As others have said, they are effectively the same. AOP is AOC, and IGP is the lower-level VdP.

Another change is that Table Wine is no longer an official category - it is just wine. So usage of Vin de Table is going (maybe it's already gone?), to be in France replaced simply by Vin de France.

In English, the new EU terms are Protectected Designation of Origin (PDO), and the lower-level Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). They are used throughout the EU, but have official translations into non-English languages - as opposed to the old terms which were country-specific, but mapped onto EU categories. As a rule of thumb, if the abbreviated translated term has a P and a G it means PGI, if it has a P but no G it is PDO

Different countries and regions may, at their own choice, switch over to the new system and decide whether it is optional or mandatory. So at the moment it is a bit of a mess, and makes life more complicated, but in the long run it could simply things a bit. (Personally, I am not convinced it helps much.)

Some countries currently have two higher-level categories, and this distinction is lost in the new system. Thus the Italian DOC and DOCG would both become whatever is Italian for PDO. Italy though, is unsurprisingly dragging its feet in switching.

You might have noticed that Greece, which had a very weird implementation of wine quality categories when it joined the EU, even if strictly-speaking it complied, now follows the European model more conventionally, and has totally switched over to the new PDO/PGI terminology. Which is good!

What’s challenging about Germany? It’s easy-peasy (for me).

Certainly its PDOs and PGIs are simple

[David M. Bueker]

What’s challenging about Germany? It’s easy-peasy (for me).

Certainly its PDOs and PGIs are simple

QED

What do resident Germany experts think of this link? Seemed helpful to this learner. Not quite newbie, but learner.

https://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/qu ... -wine-law/

Incidentally, there is now a handy tool for searching the complete list of EU PDOs and PGIs, and when you get search hits you can drill down to the regulatory documents by clicking on the "i" icon. The documents are often not in English, but if that is a problem web-based translation tools will give you the gist of the texts.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming- ... -register/

[David M. Bueker]

What do resident Germany experts think of this link? Seemed helpful to this learner. Not quite newbie, but learner.

https://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/qu ... -wine-law/

It's a decent resource.

Thanks. Now just waiting for our LWS to offer a Spatlese. All Kabinett right now. Too much wine here anyway. There is time.