How many of you by choosing a wine or a particular cheese prefer those with the wording Dop or DOCG? But have you ever wondered what those acronyms mean and how are they assigned? Dop, IGP, Doc, DOCG And IGT they are different acronyms that identify foods produced in specific areas of the territory and which certify belonging to certain standards following specific indications (calls disciplinary production). First of all, it is good to clarify that PDO and IGP are acronyms related to European legislation and refer to foodproducts agricultural And Wine: In practice they are macrocatho within which the specific acronyms already in use by the Member States are also placed. In fact, DOC, DOCG and IGT also include, categories defined by Italian legislation and reported only to wines: To be clear, you will never find a caciotta produced in France with DOCG certification!
PDO and PGI: European General Certifications
“EU quality policy intends to protect the names of specific products to promote them unique features linked to the geographical origin and traditional skills “
Here is when reported by the European Commission on denominations of geographical indication. The European law, recently updated with the EU Reg. 2024/1143, therefore defines the criteria of quality, safety and authenticityalso linked to the traditionality of production, for foods, agricultural products and winedistinguishing them in DOP, PGI and PG, whose production is linked to a specific one Disciplinary. The specification contains the instructions As for ingredients, instruments and procedures that characterize certified products. In general, passing from IG to IGP E and DOP, the indications to be respected and the disciplines become more and more restrictive.
- Protected origin denomination (DOP): the ingredients are specific to the denomination area e Each part of the production process must take place in the specific geographical area to which the name refers. Italian example is the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP or, in Europe we can find the kalamata dop olive oil.
- Protected geographical indication (PGI): the most of the ingredients comes from the specific geographical area indicated e at least one process of production must take place in the indicated region, such as the Tuscan Cantucci PGI or the Modica IGP chocolate.
- Geographical indication (IG) of witty drinks: No, they are not drinks that will make you laugh, but drinks based on liqueurs. In this case, it is not necessary that the products come from the specific region, but at least it is necessary a phase of the distillation or production is carried out on site. The lemons of Sorrento IG, or the myrtle of Sardinia PG are an example of this.
Europe also recognizes the Traditional guaranteed specialty (STG)always produced according to a specification that specifies ingredients, recipe and production method, but can also be produced outside the specific geographical area. Traditional mozzarella category, Neapolitan pizza and traditional Amatriciana are included in this category.
For wines all Italian categories are added
In the field winemany Member States of the European Union already had their categorizations: think that in Italy, the introduction of DOCs (controlled denomination of origin) dates back to 1963while in France they used the affections of origin controlée (AOC) from 1935! It is therefore clear that the European legislation also had the task of harmonize the various categorizations already in use.
- Typical geographical indication (IGT): wines where at least one production process takes place in the indicated region e At least 85% of the grapes come from that area.
- Denomination of controlled origin (DOC): certifies the area of origin of the grapes and that the process Of production of the product takes place in the indicated geographical area.
- Controlled and guaranteed denomination of origin (DOCG): it is obtained from wines that have been doc For at least 10 years and are subjected to the most stringent organoleptic and chemical-physical analysis of the previous ones. In addition, specials are provided for DOCG wines marks printed by the polygraphic institute e State mint that are put on the bottle in such a way that it is impossible to open it without ruining the mark. In short, a real quality seal equipped with standard and identification number.
As is evident, even for wines the rule is worth from IGT to DOC and DOCG, the disciplines are increasingly specific and controls increase.
With the Legislative Decree 61 of 2010, Italy has adapted to the European legislation simply by grouping all wines Doc And DOCG under the European definition DOPwhile IGT wines fall into the European PGI category. To put it in another way, a DOCG is also a PDO, while an IGP is not. Yes, it looks like a tongue!
