April: Appellation Control, Explained

Appellation and trademarking is very topical at the moment, you might have read about the current debate around Prosecco and whether it should be recognised and controlled similar to the Champagne region in France. Well, I though I would explain what appellation in the cheese industry is all about.

AOC, DOP, PGI - What does it all mean?

One of the most common questions I’m asked here at the cheese shop is what do all these terms around cheese actually mean? Things like AOC, PGI and DOP and more importantly when describing a cheese, why do we use them and as a cheesemonger where to use them in a description. 

AOC is a French certification that guarantees that a product was produced, processed, and prepared in a specific geographical area using traditional methods. The AOC label is reserved for food products and beverages that have a strong connection to their geographical origin, such as Roquefort cheese, Cognac, and Champagne. To be granted AOC status, a product must comply with strict production requirements and pass independent inspections.

AOC

For example when I write about Comte Cheese you will often see me write AOC Comte Charles Arnaut or AOC Comte Marcel Petit - Petit Bleu. 

Let’s quickly pull this apart. 

The most important thing is the AOC, which tells me that the cheese is made to an established standard. Secondly Comte, the name of the cheese, is protected under French law. So AOC Comte tells me the cheese was made in the Jura Mountains, using milk from the region and spent at least part of its life being aged there. 

Comte can come from various manufacturers or even affinage houses, hence the Charles Arnaut, who in this case buys the cheese from cheese makers and ages it to their standard. 

Before the cheese can be called Comte, inspectors audit the cheese ensuring that at every stage of production and ageing standards have been maintained. After a final taste test, the cheese is granted the name Comte and a white band can be applied with green writing saying Comte will be attached. 

DOP

DOC is an Italian certification that indicates a wine or food comes from a particular region and is made according to traditional methods. The DOP designation guarantees that the product has been produced in an approved way and that it meets specific quality standards. To be granted DOP status, the product  must pass rigorous inspections by independent organisations.

For example, DOP Mozzarella di Buffala must be made in the Campania region of Italy from locally grazed herds of buffalo. 

PGI

PGI, on the other hand, is a European Union certification that indicates a food or beverage has a specific quality, reputation, or other characteristic linked to a particular region. Unlike AOC, PGI products may be produced anywhere, but they must have a clear link to their place of origin. PGI products must also meet strict production standards and undergo independent inspections to ensure quality and authenticity.

For example; many cheesemongers, even after Brexit, continue to use the nomenclature PGI Wensleydale to describe cheese from Wensleydale Creamery in the Yorkshire Dales. The standard, disappointingly to at least one cheese club subscriber, does not apply to Wensleydale with Cranberries.

These terms are a stamp of provenance, manufacture and quality, a shortcut to selecting the best product with the most authentic taste. 

These standards can prove problematic for some manufacturers, when it comes to innovation, regulation can be stifling. 

Our hero cheese for April is case in point. Oro Nero came from retail demand for a smaller format Parmigiano Reggiano, a 10 kg wheel, to ensure freshness. DOP indicated the cheese must weigh 38kg when finished, there are no exceptions. 

So Cassefecio Generi created their own brand, from scratch, a range of cheeses at 10 kg wheel weight, using strong branding to create their own range of cheeses to meet consumer demand. The wheels are made to a Parmigiano recipe but made smaller, also with additions, like black truffle.

Establishing a new cheese can be risky, you have no history of product, you’re really out there with no guidebook, no consumer awareness built over hundreds of years, investing in new cheese making machinery. Making skimmed milk hard cheeses is hard work, requiring significant inputs of labour, inputs like milk, time to mature the cheese and skill in a new style of affinage. 

At Cornelius Cheesemongers we avoid selling products that use the names of PGI, DOP and AOC cheeses without having an intrinsic link to the traditions. You won’t see a Gruyere from Tasmania or a Parmesan made in Melbourne sold here. We do make an exception for a couple of cheeses such as Buffalo Mozzarella that should be as fresh and as local as possible or Cheddar, which is a cheesemaking technique used the world over. 

While we respect and honour old cheese making techniques we also honour and respect cheesemakers who forge their own brand.