hen we have a bottle of wine in our hands, it is worth devoting some time to its label. We will notice that often we encounter the designations PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
(Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
Next to these designations there will appear the name of a place, village, town, regional unit or geographical district. For example: PDO Zitsa, PDO Plagies Melitona (Slopes of Meliton), PGI Macedonia, PGI Halkidiki, PGI Adriani.
What does this mean? That the wine we are holding originates from the specific area stated. This is a guarantee of the quality of the wine that we taste and enjoy, and a way to highlight its place of origin.
If we spend some more time on this topic, we can also learn the varieties behind these designations.
In regard to varieties, the difference between PDO and PGI is that the first designation refers to a specific variety, for single-variety wines, or specific varieties for blends, whereas the second designation pertains to a selection from a number of permitted varieties that are grown within the specific geographical indication.
As we traverse the 8 different wine routes that form the wine tourism network “Wine Roads of North Greece”, at the wineries that are members of the “Winemakers of North Greece” we will encounter vineyards from all the above categories.
So, in the wine routes of Naoussa and the Lakes, when we have a wine that is PDO Naoussa or PDO Amyndeo, we will know that it is a wine made exclusively from Xinomavro. In the same region, along the Lakes route in Western Macedonia, a wine from the regional unit of Kozani with the designation PGI Kozani may consist of one or more varieties from the permitted ones in various blends, for example Malagouzia (single-variety), Moschomavro and Limnio (blend), or Xinomavro, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (blend).
Continuing our travels, in the mountainous region of Goumenissa we will encounter the red Xinomavro and Negoska varieties that produce PDO Goumenissa wines. In Pieria, along the “Olympian Gods” route, we will find the white Malagouzia variety that is one of those allowed in the PGI Pieria. The red Limnio, the most ancient grape wine variety, we will come upon in the route of Halkidiki, in PGI Halkidiki wines. In the route of Thessaloniki, in the PGI Epanomi we will find blends of the native varieties Limnio, Mavroudi and Mavrotragano. Among the permitted varieties in the region of Mount Pangeo, along the wine road of Dionysus, we will encounter among others the Agiorgitiko variety, under the designation PGI Pangeo. In the west, along the Epirus route and specifically in Metsovo, at an altitude of 1000 meters, we will find the Cabernet Sauvignon variety that produces PGI Metsovo wines.
The “Wine Roads of North Greece” cross mountain ranges, plateaus, lakes and seaside regions, and we can taste their microclimates in the flavors of the PDO and PGI wines they produce.
