The highest classifications in Italian wine is DOCG - Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Winemakers producing a DOCG have to follow a series of rules and regulations set out by the government in order to have this title - they have to use certain grape varietals, there are rules about the harvest, how long the wine can be aged, where it is aged, etc. Here is its tell-tale label:
The next highest classification is DOC - Denominazione di Origine Controllata. These wines have similar regulations to the DOCGs, but the rules are not as strict.Then there are IGTs - Indicazione Geografica Tipica. These are "typical" wines from certain areas.
The lowest category is Vino da Tavola - table wine. These wines don't even need to put a year on the label, as they can be a mix of different harvests together. Obviously this category has the fewest regulations.
Please note all of the above information may change pending new EU regulations that will change DOCG and DOC to IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta).
The question of the day is - how many DOCG wines are there in Italy? You'd think this would be easy to answer. Surely the agriculture ministers that regulate these things would have a handy cheat sheet lying around, oh, I don't know, on their website or something? Ha! Not even expert sommeliers seem to know that Elba Aleatico was just named the latest Tuscan DOCG, and they may have heard a rumor that Amarone was going to wear that pink label, but apparently didn't get the memo that it already is a DOCG!
For the most up to date and trustworthy list, it takes someone in Texas to take the time and figure out the Italian bureaucratic ins and outs of wine. Keep your eye on Alfonso Cevola's On the Wine Trail In Italy posts about DOCGs to know what's really going on, and see his latest post with the most recent list here.
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2 comments:
as Alfonso points out, the DOC/DOCG system is mostly about political jockeying and doesn't really reflect quality as much as one would think.
Before he passed, Teobaldo Cappellano pointed out rightly that the DOC/DOCG system was created not to protect the consumer but rather the producers and their lands... but that's another story...
one thing to note, however, is that all DOCGs require that the wine be re-tasted by a tasting panel (usually appointed by the local chamber of commerce or producers association) before it's released (DOCs are tasted before bottling and then can be released without a second sampling).
It's not clear how the system is going to change and whether or not the new agriculture minister will continue to oppose Common Market Organisation reforms, as his predecessor did...
True, Do Bianchi... I didn't even go into the "political DOCs" in Puglia which are given in return for votes - many areas don't even produce wine.
The problem is, of course, the consumer. I can get DOCG wines in my local discount supermarket in Italy for 2 Euro. I won't belabor you with the nasty tasting notes :). Italians and Americans and others are confused!
Italians are completely ignoring the new Common Market Organization laws. When they originally came out here was a lot of talk in our AIS course circles, now nothing!
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