Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

DOCG, stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, a legal category established in italy in 1963 for its highest-quality wines, at the same time as its doc was created as an Italian version of the French appellation contrôlée system. The express purpose of this category was to identify and reward the finest Italian wines, which were to be ‘guaranteed’ (the G), and not merely ‘controlled’. The ‘guarantee’ consists of a laboratory analysis of, among other aspects, the wine’s minimum extract, and a panel tasting.