French Wine Classification System

Decanter's Benjamin Lewin MW sums up the structure: French wines are classified into one of three categories, AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée, formerly AC), IGP (formerly Vin de Pays) and Vin de France. INAO describes the AOC as a compulsory national recognition stage before a name is registered as a PDO, and notes that only wine products retain the right to bear the AOC label. Vin de France replaced Vin de Table, and FranceAgriMer counts it as wine without geographical indication (VSIG).

• AOP/AOC: The highest tier, governing geography, permitted grape varieties, maximum yields, minimum alcohol levels, and winemaking methods; represents 43% of French wine production by volume in 2024 (FranceAgriMer)
• IGP: at least one production stage in the area, and for wine every operation from harvest to the end of winemaking (INAO); IGP wine was 30% of French wine production by volume in 2024 (FranceAgriMer)
• Vin de France: The most basic tier with minimal regulations; producers may include grape variety and vintage on the label but no specific region of origin; FranceAgriMer puts this category at 5% of French wine production by volume in 2024
• The former VDQS (Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure) category, created in 1949, was due to be phased out at the end of 2011, with its remaining wines deciding whether to apply for appellation contrôlée or Vin de Pays status (Decanter)

Each AOP and IGP follows precise requirements set out in a cahier des charges, defined by professionals and homologated by the European Union, and its products are controlled by state-certified bodies (INAO). The Comité national des appellations d'origine des vins et eaux de vie was created by the decree-law of July 30, 1935, and on July 16, 1947 it became the Institut national des appellations d'origine des vins et eaux-de-vie, the INAO. In 2006 it became the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité, keeping the acronym INAO. In France, AOC and PDO are regulated by the Code rural et de la pêche maritime, and wine PDOs and PGIs also depend on EU Regulation 1308/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1143.

• Joseph Capus was the first president of the Comité national des appellations d'origine des vins et eaux de vie, from 1935 to 1947 (INAO)
• A cahier des charges sets rules on grape varieties, vineyard practice, yields and minimum alcohol; the Alsace grand cru cahier, for example, requires a minimum planting density of 4,500 vines per hectare (INAO)
• To label a wine with an AOP, a producer must obtain an agrément; Decanter reports that approval can be denied for reasons ranging from notes of oxidation to colour
• INAO's Comité national des appellations d'origine relatives aux vins et aux boissons alcoolisées, et des boissons spiritueuses examines the content of wine PDO specifications, and the Comité national des IGP vins et cidres does the same for wine PGIs
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of April 11, 2024 modified the European legal framework for geographical indications, including PDOs and PGIs (INAO)

Within the AOC category, several regions add their own hierarchies. Bordeaux has five classifications, including the 1855 and Saint-Émilion classifications (bordeaux.com); Burgundy's BIVB groups its AOCs from Régionale through Village and Premier Cru to Grand Cru; and the Alsace grand cru cahier des charges covers 51 AOCs (INAO).

• Bordeaux's 1855 classification was drawn up by Bordeaux's brokers at Napoleon III's request for the 1855 Paris Universal Exhibition, on the basis of each estate's reputation and the market prices of its recent vintages; it lists 60 Médoc estates and 1 in the Graves (Pessac-Léognan) for red wines and 27 châteaux in Sauternes and Barsac for sweet whites, and it never changes (bordeaux.com)
• The Saint-Émilion classification was first published in 1955 with 75 châteaux and is revised every ten years; its 7th edition, unveiled in 2022, lists 2 Premiers Grands Crus Classés "A", 12 Premiers Grands Crus Classés and 71 Grands Crus Classés (bordeaux.com)
• The BIVB counts 84 AOCs in Bourgogne: 7 Régionale, 44 Village and 33 Grand Cru appellations, with Premiers Crus produced from single plots, known as Climats, defined within Village appellations (bourgogne-wines.com)
• The 51 Alsace grand cru AOCs were initially recognized by decrees of November 20, 1975, November 23, 1983, December 17, 1992 and January 12, 2007; their white wines come from a single variety among Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Riesling, or a blend of Muscats, with site exceptions such as Sylvaner in Zotzenberg (INAO)
• On Burgundy labels, a Premier Cru shows the commune followed by the name of the plot, while a Grand Cru replaces the village name with a single Climat name such as Corton or Montrachet (bourgogne-wines.com)

The EU reform relabeled Europe's quality categories: the top tier became PDO (protected designation of origin) and the middle tier PGI (protected geographical indication), which translates in French into IGP (Jancis Robinson). Member states could keep traditional terms, so Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée may now be called Appellation d'Origine Protégée, or AOP, instead of AOC. INAO dates the European-level introduction of PDOs and wine PGIs to 2008 and the extension of its own missions to wine PGIs to 2009.

• Under EU Regulation 1308/2013, a designation of origin requires its grapes to come exclusively from its geographical area, and a geographical indication requires at least 85% of its grapes to come from its area
• For a designation of origin, production covers all operations from the harvesting of the grapes to the completion of the wine-making processes (EU Regulation 1308/2013)
• The EU rules replaced table wine with a basic 'wine' category that may carry grape names and vintage years; France chose the name Vin de France (Jancis Robinson)
• Jancis Robinson reports that under the reform any future protected appellations have to be approved by Brussels

Decanter's Benjamin Lewin MW sets out the label logic: AOP wines are identified only by the names of their appellations, usually without varietal descriptions; IGP comes from broader regions and may be identified by varietal names; and Vin de France has no indication of origin at all. Classification level is not a quality verdict on its own: bordeaux.com notes that the absence of a classification does not prevent an appellation or an estate from producing great wines, and Lewin finds top wines within Vin de France.

• AOP designation means the raw materials and processes come from a delimited terroir, made under a cahier des charges and checked by state-certified bodies (INAO)
• IGP wines come from broader regions and may carry varietal names; IGP Pays d'Oc and IGP Côtes Catalanes are among the IGPs Jancis Robinson names
• Decanter reports that the most common reason for leaving the appellation system is to use varieties that aren't permitted, and Jancis Robinson notes that many natural-wine producers, particularly in the Loire Valley, choose Vin de France
• Jancis Robinson notes that Vin de France labels may not show where the wines are grown; a producer's address can appear on the back label, but if it includes a protected wine name the letters have to be small

Primary sources (INAO, EU law, FranceAgriMer, CIVB and BIVB): https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/aop-appellation-origine-protegee, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/igp-indication-geographique-protegee, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/history-1935-1970, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/history-inao-key-dates, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/expo-90ans/9-six-premieres-aoc, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2024-11/Chiffres-cl%C3%A9s-SIQO-2022.pdf, https://www.franceagrimer.fr/sites/default/files/2026-02/08_FICHE_FILIERE_VIN_2026.pdf, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32013R1308, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/classifications-1855/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/saint-emilion/, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/decoding-the-aocs/bourgogne-wines-decoding-the-aocs,2467,9263.html, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO-cdc-Alsacegrandcru-cn23062930.pdf. Secondary sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/arise-lowly-vin-de-france, https://www.decanter.com/features/vin-de-france-free-the-winemaker-245793/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/gros-plant-in-the-loire-goes-igp-75760/. Last verified 2026-09-24