Europe Quality System

The EU quality policy protects and safeguards the names of specific enogastronomic products, identifying and promoting their unique characteristics, and linking them to certain geographical areas of origin. In fact, PDO and PGI products are both the result of a unique combination of human and environmental factors, these products have the characteristics of a certain geographical place and traditional know-how. In short, they represent excellence in European food and wine production.

A Protected Designation of Origin was a term coined in 1992 by the European Union. Its name identifies a product originating in a specific place, region or, in exceptional cases, a country, whose quality and characteristics are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors; This label is only awarded in cases where each stage of the production process, from the bunch to the bottle, has been made and completed in a defined geographical area.

What about the different names on the labels?

In Italy, PDO denominations correspond to DOC wines “Denominazione di Origine Controllata” or to the higher level DOCG “Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita” whereas in Spain it is expressed as a DO “Denominación de Origen” - or DOCa, “Denominación de Origen Calificada”.

What about numbers?

In Italy, there are currently 573 Protected Designation of Origin, specifically 167 for agri-food products and 406 for wine and spirits, whereas in Spain they are a total of 197 - which includes 92 wines.

This designation of origin indicates foods and wines typical of a specific geographical area, which are then produced and / or processed exclusively in that area, and whose given quality, reputation or other characteristics are essentially attributable to its geographical origin; To obtain this status, at least one of the wine’s production steps has to take place in the defined geographical area.

You have likely noticed that the acronym PGI is always combined with the name of a region, or in exceptional cases, the country or territory, making the origins’ recognition as intuitive as possible.

What about the different names on the labels?

In Italy, on wine labels, PGI can be indicated as IGP “Indicazione Geografica Protetta” or IGT “Indicazione Geografica Tipica”, whereas in Spain it is VdT or VT “Vin de la Tierra”.

What about numbers?

In Italy, there are currently 248 Protected Geographical Indications, including 118 wines and spirits, whereas in Spain there are 152 - 62 of them for wines and spirits.