Italian wine, passion and culture par excellence. But quality also needs to be certified. Thus it was decided to give even greater nobility to the wines through precise provisions, which could catalog them and make them better known to the public. The acronym DOC, which stands for “denomination of controlled origin” was officially born on July 12, 1963, with the Italian law number 930. Three years later, in 1966, the first products with the prescribed characteristics were recognized.
This is an important birthday, because from that moment the bottles of wine with the right characteristics have been able to boast the Doc abbreviation on their labels, distinguishing themselves from other products. Basically a "Moreover" which increases the value, even monetary, giving the possibility of further expansions, both in Italy and abroad, of the wine product. A very significant part, more than half of what comes out of our cellars, goes around the world. And this, in times of need for economic revival, is very important.
The law governing the world of DOC wines is precise
The official rule provides that the three-letter acronym delimits the geographical area of production; specify the grape variety, as well as the type of soil where the grapes are grown. The yield of grapes into wine must also be clear, to avoid excessive exploitation of the vine. The production technologies, the characteristics of the finished product (acidity, minimum alcohol content, organoleptic qualities) must be certified.
Any other indications may also be added on the labels. For instance Classic Doc, for wines produced in the area with the most ancient tradition, or Reserve, for those subjected to a longer aging than normal. In the end Top for wines with better characteristics, for sugar concentration and higher alcohol content.
Doc, a race where everyone comes first
All Italian regions can boast wine productions with significant Doc wines. Therefore it is extremely difficult to make definitive or absolute rankings. For reasons of space we can therefore limit ourselves to mentioning some areas of excellence, such as Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Lombardy. Moving south we remember for example Campania, Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia. Similar premise for the citations relating to the most important production areas: here the mind runs, again for example, towards the Langhe in Piedmont, Nebbiolo and Barolo above all, Tuscany with the vine Sangiovese, Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino and the Veneto with the Valpolicella and Amarone.
But beware, there is not only the Doc brand ...
It is also important to know that, in addition to the Doc, there are other acronyms. DOCG, i.e. Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin. These wines, compared to the Doc wines, have stricter values to be respected, as a more restricted portion of the territory. This denomination can be assigned to wines that have already been recognized as Doc for 5 years and a double examination is required, both in the production and bottling phases.
Then there is the brand TGI (Typical Geographical Indication), with less restrictive requirements than those for Doc wines. In practice, the IGP denomination can be considered as the first step in the nobility of table wines towards indications of origin. Then there are the wines DOP, protected designation of origin whose characteristics mostly depend on the geographical area of production.
One of the many annual wine rankings
Do we want to conclude with a ranking? Repeating that it is one of the many possible is never exaggerated. We are a people of experts and all-rounders and basically everyone has the right to have and transmit preferences. Then italiani.it chose the ranking of the magazine Forbes, which reported the best 50 wines of Italy, through the eighth edition of the Best Italian Wine Awards. The 2019 edition saw the Tuscan in first place Bolgheri Sassicaia Doc 2016 from Tenuta San Guido. To the second Piedmontese Monvigliero Barolo Docg 2015 by Burlotto. Finally on the third step of the podium we find the South Tyrolean Terminum Gewürztraminer late harvest Alto Adige Doc 2016 from Cantina Tramin.
At this point the only thing to do is a virtual toast, each with a glass of their Doc wine. Cic quality will always be. But with the quantity ... let's go easy ... Cheers!
