It wasn’t until 1935 when, driven by pressure from vineyard owners - particularly Baron Leroy - the notion of Controlled Place of Origin (AOC) - (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) was developed. The following year, the creation of the National Institute of the AOC (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) (INAO) was confirmed by the then Minister for Agriculture, Mr Capus, thus making the AOC official in France.
The notion of the AOC is based on the association of one territory with one or several grape varieties and one ‘know-how’. This original combination gives each AOC wine characteristics that cannot be reproduced elsewhere, because they cannot be transported to a different site.
The logical consequence of this is that the winegrower is at the service of his terroir, and that the choice of grape variety, just like the oenological practices used, must reinforce the expression of that terroir through the wine.