Editing Appellation (section)

==Europe==

===France===
In 1935, the [[Institut National des Appellations d'Origine]] (INAO), a branch of the [[Ministry of Agriculture (France)|French Ministry of Agriculture]], was created to manage wine-processing in France.  In the [[Rhône wine|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.

Before 1935, despite the fact that the INAO was yet to be created, [[champagne (wine)|champagne]] enjoyed an appellation control by virtue of [[Protected designation of origin|legal protection]] as part of the [[Treaty of Madrid (1891)|Treaty of Madrid]].  The treaty stated that only sparkling wine produced in [[Champagne (wine region)|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===
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 origins are also legally defined.  Thus Germany's geographical classification, [[Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete]] (QbA), is akin to France's defunct  [[Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure]], which has been subsumed into the current [[Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée]] system.

===Georgia===
Georgia has 24 registered [[List of Georgian wine appellations|wine appellations]].

===Hungary===
Historically, the world's first vineyard classification system was introduced in [[Tokaj-Hegyalja]], [[Hungary]], in 1730.
Vineyards were classified into three categories depending on the soil, sun exposure, and potential to develop ''[[Botrytis cinerea]]''. The subdivisions were: first-class, second-class and third-class wines.  A decree by the Habsburg crown in 1757 established a closed production district in [[Tokaj]].  The classification system was completed by the national censuses of 1765 and 1772.

===Italy===
[[Italy]]'s first origin classification system was introduced in [[Tuscany]] in 1716 for delimiting [[Chianti]] production. After the [[unification of Italy]] several attempts were made to introduce some kind of protection for wine appellations, to no avail. Only in 1963 the "{{lang|it|[[Denominazione di origine controllata]]}}" law was approved, starting with 1967 vintage.

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

===Spain===
Some Spanish wines were already famous or even regulated ([[Rioja (wine)|Rioja]]: 1925; [[Sherry]]: 1933) when the market started being regulated. It was not until 1980 that legislation on {{Lang|es|[[denominación de origen]]}} was stablished, following the French scheme with more tiers of classification and prompted by the impending accession to the European Union.