DOC: Denominação de Origem Controlada (Portugal)

In Portugal, DOC stands for Denominação de Origem Controlada. An alternative term, Denominação de Origem Protegida (DOP), introduced after the EU wine market reforms of 2008, is also available but by 2014 had not been widely adopted. On joining the eu in 1986, Portugal undertook revision of its wine laws to bring them into line with other European countries, most notably those of France. Each of the regions which had already been designated a região demarcada (RD) in earlier legislation (bucelas, carcavelos, colares, dão, madeira, setúbal, vinho verde, bairrada, and douro) were subsequently designated as DOCs. The system equates roughly with the French aoc and sets out permitted grape varieties, maximum yields, periods of ageing in bulk and bottle, and analytical standards for specified types of wine. Samples must be submitted to the local body controlling that region’s wine industry, who grant numbered seals of origin to producers whose wines have satisfied the regulations.