France
French wines are categorized into four grades: Appellation d'Origine Contr?lée (AOC), Region de la Quintessence (VDQS), Region de la Dégustation (VDP), and Vin de la Table (VDT).
AOC
The French term means "Appellation d'Origine Contr?lée". The grape varieties, number of plants, vinification process, and alcohol content of the region of origin are all certified by experts. It can only be made from grapes grown in the region of origin, and can never be blended with grape juice from other regions.
AOC production accounts for about 35% of total French wine production. Bottle labels are labeled Appellation+Appellation+Contrôlée, e.g. Appellation Bordeaux Contrôlée.
2. VDQS is the level that ordinary regional table wines have to go through to make the transition to AOC status. If the quality of the wine is good during the VDQS period, it will be upgraded to AOC.
Production accounts for only 2% of the total French wine production. The bottle label is labeled Appellation+Appellation+Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure.
3. VDP
The best of the daily table wines are upgraded to Regional Table Wines. Regional wines may be labeled with an appellation. It can be blended with the juice of grapes within the labeled appellation, but only from grapes within that appellation. Production accounts for about 15 percent of total French wine production.
Bottle labels are labeled as Vin de Pays + the name of the appellation, e.g. Vin de Pays d'Oc. The vast majority of France's regional table wines are produced on the southern Mediterranean coast.
4. VDT
The lowest grade of wine, for everyday drinking. It can be made from grape musts from different regions, and if the musts are limited to the French regions, it can be called a French table wine. It is not allowed to use grape juice from countries outside the European Union, and accounts for about 38% of France's total wine production. Bottle labels are labeled as Vin de Table, such as Vin de Table Français.
Spain
1. DOC Higher Appellation of Origin
The DOC is Spain's highest-ranking wine, and the criteria for measuring it include the price of the grapes (which is generally at least twice the average price of grapes of the same color in the country), as well as the price of the wine. It is measured by the price of the grapes (generally at least twice the average price of grapes of the same color in Spain) and whether or not the wine is bottled within the DOC, in addition to a very strict tasting and testing system.
You must have been a DO for at least ten years before you can apply, and only wines that have been tested over a long period of time and proved to be at the highest level of quality can be certified. Currently, only Rioja, Priorato and Ribear del Duero are certified.
2. DO Appellation
It is the most important class of premium wine in Spain. The quality of grapes, winemaking technology and marketing must meet certain standards, and then go through complicated standard inspection procedures before being upgraded to DO, and there is a special coordinating committee in each Appellation to supervise and manage the growth of grapes, winemaking, and marketing of wines. There are about 60 DOs in Spain.
3. VDLT Fine Dining Wine
Some wineries in specific regions find the DO criteria cumbersome, so they join the system of naming their regions of production. These regions are usually larger than the DO, and there is a tendency for them to be organized into autonomous regions. The wines from these regions are usually made from a blend of grape varieties.
4. VC regional wines
These wines are bland, inexpensive, and can be labeled with an appellation on the label.
5. VDM Everyday Dining Wine
The lowest grade, referring to wines from unclassified winegrowing areas or blends that are automatically downgraded from a different classification.
6. Cellar Classification
In addition, every bottle of wine with a DO or DOC classification from a licensed appellation must have an indication on the back of how long it has been aged in the winery, and there are four different rules for this ***.
Sin Crianza: or Vino Joven, which translates directly to "young wine". It means that the wine is "perhaps" not aged.
Crianza: is a wine that has been stored at the winery for two years, of which six months are spent in small barrels. For white and rosé wines, the storage time is reduced to one year.
Reserva: three years after vinification before release, with at least one year in barrels and the rest in bottles. White and rosé storage is reduced to two years, and the time spent in barrels is halved.
Gran Reserva: is a five-year wine with three years in barrel and two in bottle, or vice versa. White and rosé storage is reduced to four years, with six months in barrel.
The United States
The United States does not have a formal wine classification system, only wine origin control regulations. Therefore, in addition to the price of wine, the positioning of good and bad wine, there are important wine critics scoring, as well as wine competitions and awards as a reference, in order to buy quality wines, especially cost-effective wine is the need for specific manufacturers to have an understanding of and research.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms promulgated the Approved Viticulture Area (AVA) in 1983. The regulations are based on the French Appellation d'Origine Contr?lée (AOC), but are less restrictive.
The regulation only divides the appellation according to geographical location, natural conditions, soil type and climate, and there is no restriction on the varieties of grapes that can be planted in the appellation, the yield and the way of vinification of the wine, which is also the most fundamental difference with the French origin control regulation.
There are currently more than 170 AVA wine regions in the U.S., of which more than 90 are in California. The size of the AVA varies greatly, and is often a large package of small, large appellations contain several medium-sized appellations, medium-sized appellations and small appellations, the smallest of which can be the location of a single vineyard or a single winery.
Fourth, Italy
Italy's classification system is basically "French school" belongs to the standard "Old World" model. From low to high: daily table wine VDT, local table wine IGT, legal regional wine DOC and guaranteed legal regional wine DOCG.
Daily table wine (V.D.T .Vino da Tavola)
It is also the lowest level in Italy, as is the VDT in France, and if you see an Italian wine labeled with a VDT on the label, that means the wine is If you see VDT on the label, it means that the wine is an ordinary wine for dinner without any indication of origin, just enjoy it happily and don't expect too much, sometimes you can find surprises with such a mindset. It is the French equivalent of Vin de pays, which requires a minimum of 85% of grapes harvested in the region to be used.
Appellation d'Origine refers to a table wine that is vinified and aged in a designated area, using designated grape varieties, and in accordance with designated methods. Almost all traditionally famous table wines are included in this class, and new table wines are added every year. Newly revised DOCG legislation allows particularly fine vineyards to receive independent ratings.
Germany
Quality Premium Wine (Q.m.P.)
Eiswein (Ice Wine) Wine made from grapes that have been frozen on the vine while retaining their high sugar content and acidity. The wine is rich and sweet.
4. Beerenauslese (BA): a rare and precious wine made from hand-selected grapes, each of which has been ripened to perfection and has a distinctive honeyed flavor.
5. Hand-selected Auslese: Hand-selected from the finest grapes, this class of dry whites is the finest in Germany, and this class of sweet whites is the initial class of German noble rot wines.
6. Late Harvest (Spätlese): made from grapes ripened in the late fall, this class of wines ranges from sweet semi-sweet whites to high quality dry whites.
7. Kabinett: made from fully ripened grapes, this class of wine consists mainly of dry whites.
This class of wine must come from one of Germany's 13 appellations, with much stricter rules than the previous two classes, and the grapes used must be at a high level of ripeness, with about 127 grams of natural sugar per liter of juice.
9. Landwein
This class is equivalent to the Vin de Pay in France, and there are 17 German land areas that produce this class, which can be labeled to indicate which land the wine is from.
10. Tafelwein
This is the lowest class of wine, equivalent to the French Vin de Table, and has the fewest rules for production.