European Union wine growing zones total, nearly 55% was classified as table wine with 4% used in the production of grape-based distilled spirits such as Armagnac and Cognac. The remaining 41% were produced as "quality wine"-wine that produced under one of the quality wine designation in a country's appellation systems such as Germany's QmP & QbA classifications, France's "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC), Spain's "Denominación de Origen" (DO) and Italy's "Denominazione di origine controllata" (DOC) systems. In 1997, the European Union had over 3.4 million hectare (8.4 million acres) planted under vine which accounted for nearly 44% of the world's wine, table and raisin grape production.
French cuisine contrôlée" (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws. French cuisine was made important in the 20th century by Auguste Escoffier to become the modern haute cuisine; Escoffier, however, left out much of the local culinary character to be found in the regions of France and was considered difficult to execute by home cooks. Gastro-tourism and the "Guide Michelin" helped to acquaint people with the rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Gascon cuisine has also had great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations