Wine · Terminology

Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)

The EU's looser origin category — a bigger area, wider grape choice, 85% of fruit from the region.

Protected Geographical Indication — PGI — is the EU's second tier of geographical protection, sitting below PDO. It requires that at least 85% of the grapes come from the named area, and that at least one production stage happens there.

The trade-off is freedom. PGI areas are larger, permitted varieties are far wider — international grapes included — and yield limits are more generous. It is where European producers go to make wines their appellation rules will not allow.

In practice

  • National names: IGP (France), IGT (Italy), Vino de la Tierra (Spain), Landwein (Germany), Vinho Regional (Portugal).
  • Varietal labelling is usually permitted, which the PDO tiers often restrict — a large part of PGI's commercial appeal.
  • Vintage and variety may both be stated, with the usual 85% minimums.

Where you'll meet it

  • Pays d'Oc IGP, the largest varietal-wine appellation in France.
  • Terre Siciliane, Toscana IGT, Veneto IGT — vast Italian categories.
  • Any supermarket shelf: most sub-£10 European wine sits in this tier.

What PGI is used for

  1. Varietal wines for export. Consumers buy grape names; many PDOs forbid putting them on the label. Pays d'Oc Chardonnay solves that.
  2. Grapes the appellation bans. Syrah in Tuscany, Cabernet in the Loire, Merlot in the Veneto.
  3. Rule-breaking premium wines. The Super Tuscans, again — Sassicaia sold as vino da tavola and then IGT while outselling every Chianti on the market.
  4. Volume. Higher yields and larger areas make PGI the workhorse of European wine exports.

The 85% rule

The same threshold recurs across EU labelling:

  • 85% of grapes from the stated PGI area.
  • 85% of a stated grape variety, if one is named.
  • 85% from a stated vintage.

Which is why a "Pays d'Oc Merlot 2023" may legally contain up to 15% of something else, from somewhere else, from another year.

Browse the full wine terminology A–Z →