…Appellation d’Origine Contrôllée

At the top of the tree, when it comes to terroirs, there is Appellation d’Origine Contrôllée (“controlled use of the name of origin”), signifying that a product comes from a known terroir of national standing. Every AOC defines a geographical zone (frequently with an underlying geological attribute) but AOC accreditation also requires products to deliver the qualities for which that terroir is known.

The French government administers the accreditation of AOC products through the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) and approves the technical manuals for all AOC products. These can, on occasion, be modified to reflect the expectations attached to AOC products.