WHAT IS A.O.C.

Since everything in this store is curated by Patrick and Connie Allen, our original concept was the Allens' Online Cellar.  However, in the wine world, A.O.C. really means...

Appellation d’Origine Controlée

Long ago the French figured out that where a wine is grown can have as much to do with the way it tastes as does which grapes are used to make it.   So, they created strict A.O.C laws to protect specific wine growing regions. In this concept of “terroir” or sense of place, everything that could affect the way a grape grows is taken into account.  Terroir not only includes soil, but also encompasses terrain, the direction a slope is facing, and micro-climate.  This intimate bond to place gives us a way to travel through space and time through a well-made bottle of wine.   A sip of wine can easily transport us to the sunny south of France, a cold winter’s day in Burgundy, or a Tuscan hillside.  These vicarious connections between people and places is what can make fine wine so extraordinary.  For this reason we find the concept of A.O.C.s very fitting since it is what we hope to accomplish with our selections.