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Italian Wine Designations: DOCG, DOC, IGT

Written By: Dylan York on Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ever wonder what those Italian acronyms stand for, or how they came about? Dylan York offers up some wine history.

Italy is one of the oldest wine producing areas in the world, but it was only recently that a designation system for their wines was implemented. Even though Italy has been producing wine since 1 BC, there was no real organization of thought until 1595 when a man named Andrea Bacci wrote his opus titled "De Natural Vinorum Historia." This was a series of seven books that compiled information on the role of wine in the Italian culture and all its economic relevance. At this time wine was viewed more as a tradition and source of income, rather than a product of scrutiny. The light bulb for the concept of wine appreciation and attention to quality did not even turn on until a journalist named Luigi Veronelli came along - this guy really shook things up. He was obsessed with social issues, food and wine. One could say he was one of the major catalysts in bringing about the Italian wine laws. In 1957, he published a series of articles that focused on the idea of quality Italian wines and their importance in the world of gastronomy. His contributions made a huge impact on the modern Italian wine scene.

Soon after in 1963, the Italian government created two designations for wine, Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or DOCG for the highest quality of wine; and Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or DOC for quality wines. A third also existed for table wines which was called Vino da Tavola. The Italians were attempting to model their system after Frances's Appellation Controlee system but it failed miserably. It seemed that Italy was too vast of a region for its wines to be separated into two categories. The system dictated the following guidelines for each region: vine varieties to be grown, alcohol levels, acidity, extract, and yields. The system was meant to raise the standards and hopefully produce better wines, but it was not made for a country as diverse as Italy. There are over 1500 different varieties of grapes grown in Italy alone; do you think that growers are going to listen to the government on what is best for their farm? Forget about it! Many of the wine producers refused to abide by the systems and for better or worse continued to make their traditional wines and labeled them Vino da Tavola instead. Others saw the wines of Bordeaux as a good model and started producing wines using Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

In 1974 a new breed of Vino da Tavola was born with the creation of two wines; Tignanello (Sangiovese, Cabernet & Cabernet Franc) and Sassicaia (Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc). Both of these wines had price tags that superseded most DOCG wines. This was the growers' way of giving the system the finger while proving that high quality wines could be made using different varietals and techniques not ordained to each region. These wines and others were produced under the Vino da Tavola label for almost twenty years. The only problem was that by law, Vino da Tavola wines were not allowed to show varietal, vintage, or estate name on the label. Now how does the average consumer know which table wine to purchase? Even if the price tag is higher, there is no guarantee of the quality. This went on until 1992 when the government finally created the Indicazione Geografica Tipica, or IGT. This designation raised the standards and allowed growers to produce their own types of wine. The IGT system is equivalent to the Vins de Pays system in France. Now winemakers who wanted to make their own style of wine had a respectable designation and quality guidelines to back it up.

Note: This also lead to the creation of the Super Tuscans which I will discuss in the next article.

Today almost all Italian wines fall in the categories of DOCG, DOC, and IGT. Vino da Tavola is almost completely absent from the export market. Now you might ask if a DOCG wine is better than an IGT or how much difference is there between a DOC and DOCG. My best answer for you is that it depends on your taste. What you have to remember with designations is that they are based on region, varietal, and taste profile. Even if a wine is considered the best of its type, if you don't like it, then it doesn't matter what it is. But what you can rely on is that the utmost attention to quality has been taken to produce that wine. Some people disagree with the system and some people favor it. At the end of the day it all boils down to how much you want to spend and what you want to drink. Enjoy tasting.

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  Be the first to comment on this article


Roflworthy
Foxwoods, CT
Posted on 5/21/08

I've never had a Vino da Tavola. I guess I need to dig a little deeper, just to give it a try.


csoma
Raleigh, NC
Posted on 5/21/08

Always wondered about the Italian acronyms but never had a chance to really look it up. Thanks for the info.

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