📍 Përmet

Përmet is a hilly district in southern Albania, at 300 to 600 metres. The soils drain well, and the vines include the ones that give white Pulës. A 2016 review of Albanian viticulture counts Përmet among the areas known for quality wine, but adds at once that production is small.

Pulës is probably the most important grape here. It grows in Berat, Përmet and Mallakastër, and limestone soils and altitude give it a mineral character and lively acidity. Its colour is golden yellow with a greenish tinge, and the nose is wildflowers, citrus and mountain tea. Serve it with freshwater fish, white meat or soft cheese.

The numbers are modest. Përmet belongs to Gjirokastër county, and the whole county made only 495 hectolitres of wine at home in 2012. Wineries added 1,460 hectolitres in 2013, seven percent of the national 22,352. This is mostly small, family-scale production.

Compared with Berat, Përmet has fewer wineries: Berat has a cluster of 13, while here quality stays a promise. Higher up, in the eastern sub-mountain belt at 600 to 800 metres, near Leskovik, Debina grows, with green apple and pear. All of this is Southern Albania.