The French appellation system is the most widely known system of quality control for wine. Other European countries have roughly equivalent gradings, though some have more categories. However, quality within any of the bands is not consistent and a good example of a simple wine can be better than a poorly made wine that has complied with the rules to achieve a higher status.
In this section we look at the different classification systems used by France, Italy, Germany, Portugal and Spain, and the different terminology that you might find written on your wine bottle.
The following table is a summary of the European wine classifications:
| Country |
Basic Wine |
Regional Wine |
Quality Wine |
Special Quality Wine |
| France |
Vin de Table |
Vin de Pays |
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC or AC) or Vin
Délimité de
Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) |
No category |
| Germany |
Tafelwein |
Landwein |
Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) |
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) - divided into 6 styles:
Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese |
| Italy |
Vino da Tavola |
Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) |
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) |
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) |
| Portugal |
Vinho de Mesa |
Vinho Regional |
Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) or Indicação
de Proveniência Regulamentada (IPR) |
No category |
| Spain |
Vino de Mesa |
Vino de la Tierra (VdlT) or Vino Comarcal (VC) |
Denominación de Origen (DO) |
Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOC or DOCa) |
Favourites (IE)
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