🏷️ PGI (Greece)

PGI (Greece) is the Greek category of regional wine with a protected geographical indication. It used to be called "topikos oinos", meaning "local wine". It stands a little below PDO, wines with a protected designation of origin. The category was created under the common European scheme. The wine must be made from grapes of a defined area, such as a region, island or district. The rules are looser than for PDO: more varieties are allowed and yield requirements are less strict. This lets winemakers try new varieties and styles, including international ones. As in France, where the similar category is called IGP, Greek PGI gives good wines official status without strict traditional limits. Many interesting wines are released under this name. For a buyer, PGI is a sign that the wine comes from a specific place in Greece. It is one of the levels of the country's wine classification, as in other European Union countries.

Eight of Greece's nine wine regions have a regional PGI wine; the Ionian Islands, in the west, are the exception. The PGI zones come in three levels: regional, district and area. At the district level alone Wines of Greece lists 37 PGIs, so a label can name anything from a broad region down to a much smaller place.