Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) are the labels that you can find on your EU imported product that indicate the highest quality of production. These labels are given only to products that have checked out on various criteria in order to be labeled as PGI or PDO. Every product marked with label PGI consists of at least 85% local to the labeled region ingredients. The process of winemaking could have been done at a different place though, as sometimes production may be difficulted by surrounding environment.
If the region is not easily accessible or not urbanized, the process of production may have to be held at a different location, sometimes outside the EU recognized unique region. As this is more often the case, you will find a lot of PGI labeled wines – they hold every ray of sunshine from the Thracian Lowlands in their ripe grapes, no matter the location where they were turned into wine. The other, PDO label signifies that the whole process of wine producing is made at the marked region – from the grape to the glass of wine. This requires for the region to be not only carrying its unique specifics (in order to be recognized as an EU region of unique significance), but to have enough additional resources for the production of wine, urbanized areas where wineries can execute the whole process.
For a region to be recognized as a PGI or PDO region, it must carry its own specific features that make the wine unique. A wine with PGI or PDO must explicitly mention clear elements – denomination, historical origin, production area. Only after providing these explicit details and being verified by national, and EU responsible authorities, it may carry the labels of quality PGI or PDO.
So next time you look for wine with a history and preserved tradition in the making, don’t forget to look for the EU quality schemes PGI and PDO – and be sure to taste something unique!
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