bottle markings.

[dananne]

Italy regulates the use of regional wine names like France's AOC. Italy's system of controlling demonination of origin is Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC). This is an attempt to ensure the style authenticity of wines having famous regional names by regulating things like permitted grapes, yields, minimum alcohol content, vinification techniques, etc. The DOCG is a stricter appellation rank. The "G" stands for Garantita, which I believe means guaranteed. These have even stricter yield limitations, longer aging requirements, and other things to ensure even greater quality.

Hope this is helpful!