What the Heck is a "Appellation?"

Above is a basic Napa appellation map

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well. The rules that govern appellations are dependent on the country in which the wine was produced.

The oldest references are to be found in the Bible, where wine of Samaria, wine of Carmel, wine of Jezreel, or wine of Helbon are mentioned. This tradition of appellation continued throughout the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, though without any officially sanctioned rules. Historically, the world's first exclusive (protected) vineyard zone was introduced in Chianti, Italy in 1716 and the first wine classification system in Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary, in 1730.

In 1935, the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), a branch of the French Ministry of Agriculture, was created to manage wine-processing in France. In the Rhone wine region Baron Pierre Le Roy Boiseaumarié, a lawyer and winegrower from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, obtained legal recognition of the Côtes du Rhône appellation of origin in 1937. The AOC seal, or Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, was created and mandated by French laws in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Champagne enjoyed an appellation control by virtue of legal protection as part of the Treaty of Madrid (1891). Only sparkling wine produced in Champagne and adhering to the standards defined for that name as an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée could be called champagne. This right was reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I.

Germany is unusual among wine-producing countries in that its most prestigious classifications, the various grades of Prädikatswein, are based on the ripeness of the grapes, though their geographical areas are also defined.

Portugal The world's third-oldest appellation control, after Chianti and Tokaj was introduced in Portugal in 1756, pertaining to port wine, which was produced in the region of the Douro valley.

The American Viticultural Area ("AVA") is for the United States. The only requirement to use the AVA name on the wine label is that 85% of the wine must have come from grapes grown within the geographical AVA boundaries. The first American Viticultural Area was in Augusta, Missouri, in 1980. Augusta's wine region approval was based largely on its long historical relationship with wine in the United States.