Denominazione di origine controllata Denominazione di origine controllata Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC; ; English: controlled designation of origin) is a quality assurance label for Italian wines. The system is modeled on the French "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC) designations. The Italian government introduced the system in 1963 and overhauled it in 1992 to comply with European Union law on protected geographical designations of origin, which came into effect that year. There are three levels of labels: DO — Denominazione di Origine" (designation of origin, seldom used), DOC — Denominazione di Origine Controllata" (controlled designation of origin), and DOCG — "Denominazione di Origine Controllata e
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