D.O.C.G. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita)
D.O.C.G. regions are sub-territories of D.O.C. regions that produce outstanding products that may be subject to more stringent production and quality standards than the same products from the surrounding D.O.C. region.
The need for a D.O.C.G. identification arose when the D.O.C. denomination was, in the view of many Italian food industries, given too liberally to different products. A new, more restrictive identification was then created, as similar as possible to the previous one so that buyers could still recognize it, but qualitatively different.
A notable difference for wines is that D.O.C.G. labelled wines are analysed and tasted by government–licensed personnel before being bottled. To prevent later manipulation, D.O.C.G. wine bottles then are sealed with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork.