French wine we know today. In 1935, numerous laws were passed to control the quality of French wine. They established the Appellation d'origine contrôlée system, which is governed by a powerful oversight board (Institut national des appellations d'origine, INAO). Consequently, France has one of the oldest systems for protected designation of origin for wine in the world, and strict laws concerning winemaking and production. Many other European systems are modelled after it. The word "appellation" has been put to use by other countries, sometimes in a much looser meaning. As European Union wine laws have been modelled after those of the French,
Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union colonised by the fungus "Penicillium roqueforti" that grows in these caves. This system is similar to appellation systems used throughout the world, such as the "appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC) used in France, the "denominazione di origine controllata" (DOC) used in Italy, the "denominação de origem controlada" (DOC) used in Portugal, the "denominación de origen" (DO) system used in Spain and the "Denumire de origine controlată" (DOC) system used in Romania. In many cases, the EU PDO/PGI system works parallel with the system used in the specified country, and in some cases is subordinated to the appellation system that was already