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ARGENTINA
2-2-10go
La Rareza
CALIFORNIA
Casa Carneros
Cloud 9 Winery
Deux Amis
Mario
Perelli-Minetti
Pendleton Winery
Raymond
Burr
Terra Bella
CHILE
Crucero
France
Three Winds Wines
ITALY
La Piazza
Le Poese
New Zealand
Sileni Estate Winery
SOUTH AFRICA
Phambili
MDM Gulf Relief
Gulf Relief
Collection
ABOUT WINE
Appellation
Guide
Food and Wine Pairing
Wine Education
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The term appellation is French and refers to a specific wine region distinguished by geographical features. Their
rules and guidelines consider the soil, climate, sun, water quality, and contour of a region combined to produce a style of wine that simply can't be duplicated
elsewhere. The size of an appellation can range from very small plots of land to huge areas that cover hundreds of miles.
American wines emphasize varietal over place but European winemakers take the opposite approach. In 1935 France founded the
Institute National Des Appellations d'Origine, becoming the first nation to set up a countrywide system based on geography for controlling the origin and
quality of its wines. Their Appellation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) plan originated as a preventative measure during the Depression to protect French winemakers
and consumers from fraudulent and inferior wine blending practices of some unethical French wine brokers. Since that time other countries have adopted similar
regulatory controls.
In the U.S. appellations are known as American Viticultural Areas or AVAs. This has become highly political in the U.S. and the
TTB who is tasked with managing AVAs has lost control. There are AVAs that make up a single farm with little or no regard to standards. However, the
American Viticultural Area carries a different connotation than the French appellation of origin. Labels, for instance, may identify a wine's AVA when a minimum
of 85% of the grapes used comes from within that specified AVA, while French AOC regulations have stricter guidelines which include vineyard location, varietal,
growing technique, crop yield, grape ripeness and ensuing alcohol content, and winemaking practices.
The Appellations Represented by MDM
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