Controlled Designation of Origin

Wines can be classified as DOC and DOCG products. The acronym DOC refers to Controlled Designation of Origin wines.

The Controlled Designation of Origin label describes those wines that are produced in small or medium-sized defined areas known by their geographical name. DOC wines guarantee consumers that the wine they are buying has a specific origin and precise organoleptic and production features which are compliant with given product specifications.

DOC is the specific traditional acronym used in Italy to indicate Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wines regulated by the European Community. PDO wines are produced by using grapes grown in particularly suitable areas (e.g. Langhe, in Piedmont), the names of which are used to indicate renowned and high-quality products. The characteristics of these wines are strictly connected with the natural environment where they are produced and are regulated by and defined in product specifications.

Piedmont has so far produced 42 Controlled Designation of Origin wines.

Starting 1962, to protect the typicality of wines, a common organization for the marketing of wines was gradually included in the European agriculture policies framework. The mechanisms were initially aimed to regulate the supply of wines by applying a price system and regulating table wines, adjusting distillation, etc.
The conditions of the Community wine market have changed over time and EC Reg.1493/99, a revolutionary idea for the sector, brought the current norms that applies to all aspects of production.

The principle reference norms for PDO and PGI regarding wines are the following:

• EC Regulation n. 1234/2007 has incorporated the recent EC reg. 491/2009 standardizing the CMO for all food products. This regulation contains all the methods for producing, packaging and labelling of all wines with denomination at the European level;
• EC Reg. 607/09 of 14 July 2009 - EC Official Journal n. 193 of 24 July 2009 - Laying down certain rules for the application of Council regulation n. 479/08 (now known as Reg.1243/07) as regards the protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications, traditional terms, labelling and presentation of certain wine products;
• EC Reg. 606/09 of 10 July 2009 - EC Official Journal n. L 193 of 24 July 2009 - Laying down certain rules for the application of Council regulation n. 479/08 as regards the categories of wine sector products, oenological practices and restrictions thereof;
• Lgs. D. 61 of 2010 of 8 April 2010 - Official gazette of the Italian Republic n. 96 of 26 April 2010 - Safeguard of the designations of origin and geographical indications for wines, in implementation of art. 15 of Law no. 88 of 7 July 2009.

Procedures for the recognition and modification of the Doc and Docg status have been modified since 2 August 2009. The new procedure involves two stages:

• National recognition
• European Community recognition

The definite approval is no longer at the national level, only at the Community level.
The Doc recognition is reserved for wines from areas already acknowledged even with a different denomination; for IGT recognition, one must wait at least five years.
The recognition of a DOCG status is reserved for wines with DOC status and produced in special demarcated areas or types of DOC, for at least ten years.

Persons entitled to submit applications for a DOC or DOCG recognition

TheProtection Consortiums or Producers¿ Associations established by law may present the request.

Theassociation, which is established by law, is made up of a group of wine producers of the denomination which is requested. Members of the association may be public or private entities as long as they represent the interests of the denomination in question.
Among the social objectives of the Association is the registration of the product for which the recognition is requested (or should be at least deliberated in a meeting).

How to present the motion for recognition and the preliminary procedures

The request is sent to the Region together with the documentation outlined in art. 4 of the Ministerial Decree of 16 December 2010.

Within 60 days of the presentation of the request, the Region must publish a notification on the BUR and convene the Regional Wine Committee for approval and subsequently send the request to the Ministry which must start the preliminary procedures within 45 days of receipt.

If the result of the verification is positive, the Ministry convenes a meeting of public verification - contained in art. 7 of M. D. of 16 December 2010 and within 60 days the proposal is published on the Official Gazette.

After 60 days, if no comments are received, the Ministry proceeds with the publication of the single document and specification on the web site of the Ministry itself. The request is then sent to the European Commission that will study its merits.

The procedure ends at the Community level with the publication of the approval in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the national level, with the publication of production specification and subsequent approval by the European Commission on both the website and the Italian Official Gazette.

The production rules are discussed and dealt with by the National Committee of grapevine growers so it can be approved with a Ministerial Decree.

The production specifications states all the rules for production and marketing of PDO wines, which are defined as such:

• geographical areas of production;
• the vines;
• the type of soil used for the cultivation of the grape;
• the yield of the grape that is made into wine (to avoid the overexploitation of the vine);
• production and aging technologies;
• the characteristics of the finished product (acidity, dry extract, minimum alcohol content, organoleptic characteristics);
• eventual qualification of the wine when sold.

The DOCG and DOC status

• Guarantees that the product bought by the consumer has an assured origin, and precise productive characteristics that conform to the precise production specification.
• Protects the producer against any imitation or unfair competition or fraud.

The DOC (Controlled designation of origin) is a label that distinguishes wine products produced in usually small and medium-sized demarcated areas and indicated with their geographical name. The production of DOC wines is controlled in both the vitivinicultural levels (for example with rules referring to pruning of planting pattern) and oenological levels, with precise rules that follow the yields and characteristics of the final product. The rules result in the specific production, while controls verify the compliance by providing detailed chemical and sensory analysis.

The DOCG (Controlled denomination of origin guaranteed) label was created for DOC wines that present "particularly fine quality." The DOCG status may be requested for those wines that have had DOC status for at least 10 years and are famous internationally.

The wines of Denomination of Origin are protected only if the guarantees offered are verifiable; for this reason, the owners of DOC and DOCG wines undergo checks (also before commercialization) byaccredited third parties authorized by a Ministerial Decree.

After the product is controlled another plan of control was instituted for DOC and DOCG wines
From 2009, all DOC products have plans of control in accordance with the MD 29 March 2007 and the EC reg. 1243/07. The Region has taken an active part in the management of a Regional supply chain, specifically established, thus identifying parties responsible for the controls of the over 50 denominations. The Ministry, with a special decree accredits these parties and third parties, with respect to the producers and protection consortiums representing them.
Starting from the grape harvest of 2009, all wines with denomination of origin marketed in bottles are labelled with a symbol of the said status that provides effective traceability of the product, guarantees the quantities of the product and monitors production.

The DOCG and DOC labelling is recognizable because:

• it is found next to the product name with the wording or acronym: DENOMINAZIONE DI ORIGINE CONTROLLATA (DOC - controlled designation of origin) or DENOMINAZIONE DI ORIGINE CONTROLLATA E GARANTITA (DOCG - controlled designation of origin guaranteed);
• it is obligatory to print the year the grapes were produced;
• the alcohol content of the product is expressed in % vol.

EC Reg.607/09 defines the required and optional information to be provided on the wine and PDO labels.

The national regulations applied are stated in Lgs. D. of 23 December 2009. The decree states the compulsory and optional indications that have to be present in the labels of DOCG and DOC wines in relation to traditional terms, labelling and the way they should be indicated.

EX. The indication of the bottling in the area of production has to be written as such:

• "Bottled in the Area of Production";
• "Bottled in ..." followed by the PDO acronym.

The label should contain, on a mandatory basisthe following information:

• The sales designation (e.g. Piedmont);
• The eventual type relative to the wine¿s characteristics (e.g. Sparkling, sweet, etc...);
• Name or business name and the headquarters of the producers, packers, or sellers, and the area of production and packaging;
• Name or business name and the headquarters of the producers, packers, or sellers, and the area of production and packaging;
• Bottle capacity from 0.375 until the capacity is approved by the regulations and specifications of production;
• Lot identifier, by way of protection of the merchandise and health.

Among the optional indications that can be written on the label are:

• Storage information;
• Organoleptic characteristics like colour, flavour and aroma;
• Environmental compliance;
• Advice on pairing and on the ideal serving temperature;
• Language/indication for impaired vision;
• q code.

We must remember that for the label of a bottle or of a container for wine, it is understood as the entire surface visible to the consumer and, therefore, there are no indications for the label and indications for the counter label except obligatory and optional indications..

The single specifications for the production indicate authorizations and prohibitions on what should be or can be written on the label.

The single specifications for the production indicate authorizations and prohibitions on what should be or can be written on the label.

• The specification <<classico>>, for non sparkling wines DOCG or DOC, and the specification <<storico>> for sparkling wines DOCG and DOC, reserved for wines from the oldest original areas of production to which an autonomous regulation can be attributed even in the areas of the same denomination.
• The term <<riserva>> is attributed to DOC and DOCG wines that undergo a period of aging not less than:
  • two years for red wines;
  • one year for white wines;
  • one year for sparkling wines obtained with the fermentation method in autoclave (martinotti/charmat method);
  • three years for sparkling wines obtained by natural fermentation in the bottle;

• The term <<superiore>> is attributed to DOC and DOCG wines having higher qualitative characteristics, derived from a stricter regulation that foresees, respect for the non-classified types with such a term, a yield per hectare of grapes less than at least ten percent, as well as:
  • the minimum alcoholic strength of the grapes' natural potential more than at least 0.5° vol;
  • the minimum alcoholic strength of the total wine consumption more than at least 0.5 ° vol.

The term <> cannot be paired with the term "novello" or with the term "riserva."

• The term <<novello>> is for wines produced in accordance with current national and Community norms;
• The term <<passito>> o <<vino passito>>, »(sweet wine) is for the category of wines belonging to the DOCG and DOC Still wines, including «wines from overripe grapes» and « wines from dried grapes», obtained from the fermentation of grapes through natural drying or in a conditioned environment.
• The term <<vigna>> or its synonyms, followed by its relative toponym or traditional names may be used only for PDO grapes obtained from the planted area that corresponds to the toponym or traditional names, as long as it claims an annual production of grapes and the resulting wine is separately produced and a specific positive list is provided at the regional level.