Abbreviation for "Districtus Austriae Controllatus", the Austrian designation for a quality wine typical of the region and controlled for its origin, which corresponds mutatis mutandis to the French Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP). A relevant reorganisation of the quality system in Austria was initiated in the 1990s by representatives of the wine growing association, the wine trade, the ÖWM (wine marketing service company) and the Ministry of Agriculture. The aim of these efforts was and is to emphasise the distinctiveness of Austrian wine and to strengthen its identity in order to stand up to the increasing competition from Europe and overseas. Similar to France, Italy and Spain, this means that the origin is given more consideration or is brought to the fore. In order to illustrate the motivation, the difference between "Romanic" and "Germanic" wine law should be made clear.