DOP

DOP, or Denominación de Origen Protegida, previously known as do (which was still widely used in 2014), the mainstay of Spain’s wine quality control system and equivalent to pdo. The eu’s denomination reforms implemented in Spain in 2010 are followed by some of the more recent Spanish appellations, but both DO and DOP are permitted on labels.

Each region awarded DO/DOP status is governed by a consejo regulador made up of representatives of the regional government (or the Ministry of Agriculture in the three multiregional appellations Rioja, Jumilla, and Cava), vine-growers, winemakers, and merchants who earn their livelihoods in the region. These regional governments decide on the boundaries of the region, permitted vine varieties, maximum yields, limits of alcoholic strength, and any other limitations pertaining to the zone. Back labels or neck seals are granted by the Consejo to certify that a wine meets the standards laid out in the DOP regulations. A superior category, Denominación de Origen Calificada (see doca), was created in 1991.