PDO wines of Greece PDO Wines of Greece (“Protected Designation of Origin”) include the Greek wine category of “Designation of Origin Wines” (AOQS and AOC). The areas where AOQS wines are produced – “Designation of Origin of Superior Quality” (part of the PDO Wines of Greece) are in essence the historical winegrowing and winemaking areas of Greece. In those areas, winegrowing zones determined on the basis of the borders of communal municipalities have been established, together with certain restrictions regarding altitudes or natural and artificial limits. With the exception of two areas, varietal compositions are determined strictly on the basis of Greek native grape varieties. All zones are subject to restrictions as to the maximum allowable yields per 0.1 hectare and various other prerequisites which wines must comply with. Especially AOQS wines, which carry a mandatory characteristic red band on the neck of their bottles, must be produced by wineries located within their winegrowing zone. In other words, it is not only the grapes which must originate within a certain zone: the wineries vinifying them must be established within that zone as well. The AOC wines zones – “Controlled Appellation of Origin” (part of the PDO Wines of Greece) are historically and geographically determined winegrowing areas. AOC wines, which must be vinified by wineries located within their zones, carry a mandatory characteristic blue band on the neck of their bottles, must meet all the prerequisites of AOQS wines and, additionally, have higher specifications as to their content in sugars. They are exclusively sweet wines which are produced in the following two ways: • By addition of alcohol originating in wine (previously fortified wines – currently liqueur wines). Such wines are characterized as "vin doux naturel". The use of alcohol in their vinifications gives them the designation of “controlled” wines. • By concentration of the grape contents through various natural techniques (over-maturation on the vine stock; exposure to the sun (sun-dried grapes); sun-drying; or air-drying following the harvest). These wines bear the characterization of “vin naturellement doux”. Should the grapes yielding these wines have been sun-dried prior to vinification, the wines are also entitled to being characterized as “straw wines" or "vin liastos”. No additional sweetening is allowed through the addition of must, concentrated or not, or through the addition of alcohol or any distillate. PDO Wines of Greece (AOQS and AOC) are required to display certain indications and other information on their labels. These concern aging times (oxidized aging in oak barrels and fermentation in bottles) as well as details of the winegrowing entity producing them. In the popular zones of PDO Wines of Greece (AOQS and AOC) provisions allow aging in oak barrels (with the exception of the PDO Santorini and PDO Monemvassia-Malvasia zones); bottling (except PDO Monemvassia-Malvasia) and bottle fermentation also in wineries located outside the zones. Thus, PDO Wines of Greece (AOQS and AOC) are also produced by wineries outside the zones that collaborate with wineries within them. The PDO Wines of Greece are: PDO Anchialos; PDO Amynteo; PDO Archanes; PDO Goumenissa; PDO Dafnes; PDO Zitsa; PDO Lemnos; PDO Mantinia; PDO Mavrodaphne of Cephalonia; PDO Mavrodaphne of Patras; PDO Messenikola; PDO Monemvassia-Malvasia; PDO Muscat of Cephalonia; PDO Muscat of Lemnos; PDO Muscat of Patras; PDO Muscat of Rio Patras; PDO Muscat of Rhodes; PDO Naoussa; PDO Nemea ; PDO Paros ; PDO Patras; PDO Peza; PDO Slopes of Meliton; PDO Rapsani; PDO Rhodes; PDO Robola of Cephalonia; PDO Samos; PDO Santorini; and PDO Sitia. PDO Anchialos The PDO Anchialos zone (est.1971), characterized by low hilly terrain, lies west and northwest of Pagasitikos Gulf in the district of Magnissia, Thessalia region. It is mainly concentrated around the town of Nea Anchialos (Nea Anchialos, Aidini, Mikrothives) and to a lesser degree near Almyros (Krokio). Winegrowing in the area was developed by the refugees from Asia Minor who settled mostly in Nea Anchialos and the villages of Aidini, Kastraki and Mikrothives, where most of the vineyards are still located. Roditis is a variety widely planted throughout Greece. It has numerous clones and a number of different names. Besides the PDO Anchialos blend, it is also found in PDO Patras and PDO Slopes of Meliton. Savvatiano is not as widespread and is normally encountered in eastern Central Greece (Attiki, Viotia, and Evia). Four wineries operate within the zone, with three of them producing PDO Anchialos wines. Varieties: Roditis (80% minimum), Savvatiano. Wine type Dry white Medium dry white Medium sweet white PDO Amynteo The PDO Amynteo zone (est. 1972) stretches in the southeastern part of the Florina district and mostly on the plateau of the area of Amynteo (Amynteo, Agios Panteleimon, Klidi, Xino Nero, Petres, Rodonas, Fanos), in the area of Aetos (Aetos, Agrapidies, Anargyri, Pedino), Filota (Antigonos, Vegora, Levea ), and Variko (Variko). The altitudes range from 570m to 750m. The plateau is girded by “the 3 V’s”, i.e., the mountains of Vermio (2,052m), Vitsi (2,128m), and Voras (2,554m). Two lakes are also part of the plateau’s terrain: Vegoritida, the largest of the two, is at the plateau’s northeasternmost tip with half of its surface belonging to the district of Pella. Petron, the second lake, lies west of Vegoritida almost halfway through the plateau. One of the PDO Amynteo zone’s characteristics is its sandy soil which has resulted in the presence of many relatively old, self-rooted vines. PDO Amynteo is the northernmost and has the highest average elevation (615m) among the four PDO wine zones in which the Xinomavro variety is cultivated. The other three zones are PDO Goumenissa, PDO Naoussa and PDO Rapsani. Xinomavro and Amynteo have always been linked in the production of both red and rosé wines, due to the particular favorable mesoclimate of the Amynteo plateau. Case in point, these wine types account for most of the area’s total production. What is more, the area’s PDO blush (rosé) wine is the only one produced anywhere in Greece and one of the only two PDO sparkling wines in the country (the second one is PDO Zitsa). There are seven wineries active within the zone, all producing PDO Amynteo wines. Variety Xinomavro 100% Wine type Dry rosé Medium dry rosé Medium sweet rosé Sparkling dry rosé Sparkling medium dry rosé Dry red Medium dry red Medium sweet red PDO Archanes The PDO Archanes zone (est.1971) lies in the north-central part of the Heraklion district in Crete. One of the region’s three consecutive PDO zones, it is situated in-between the other two. To the east it borders on the PDO Peza zone and to the west on PDO Dafnes. It comprises parts of the areas of Archanes (Ano and Kato Archanes; Vathipetro; Karnari; Patsides), Heraklion (Vasilies; Skalani) and Temenos (Agios Syllas and Profitis Elias). The boundaries of the PDO Archanes zone begin in an area of historic significance (somewhat farther south of the Knossos archeological site), ending south at Vathipetro where archeological excavations have brought to light one of the oldest Minoan (2ndmillennium BC) wine presses on Crete. Towering in the center of the zone is Mount Yuhtas (811m) which was considered sacred ground in antiquity. The PDO Archanes zone is not as developed as its neighboring Peza zone and it includes only three operating wineries. Although of the same varietal composition as the PDO Peza red, the area’s red wines, due to their higher content of the Mandilaria variety have definitely distinct characteristics. Varieties Kotsifali, Mandilari (Mandilaria). Wine type Dry red PDO Goumenissa The PDO Goumenissa zone (est.1979) extends on the southeastern foothills of Mount Paiko (1,650m), in the southwestern part of the Kilkis district in Macedonia; the zone comprises part of the area of Goumenissa (Goumenissa; Gerakonas; Griva; Karpi; Pentalofo; Stathis; Filyria ) and the areas of Axioupolis (Gorgopi) and Evropos (Polypetro). As legislation stipulates that cultivation altitude be no less than 150m, the total area of the zone is rather limited. In essence, the largest part of the vineyards is to be found along the Karpi-Goumenissa-Filyria axis. The PDO Goumenissa zone is the smallest of the four zones where the xinomavro variety is cultivated -the other three being PDO Amynteo, PDO Naoussa and PDO Rapsani. The presence of the Negoska variety makes the wines somewhat softer than those of Naoussa. At the same time it intensifies their color and their alcohol content. All five wineries within the zone produce PDO Goumenissa wines. Varieties Xinomavro, Negoska (20% minimum). Wine type Dry red PDO Dafnes The vineyards of the PDO Dafnes zone (est.1971) stretch on the western part of the Heraklion district, on the eastern foothills of Mount Psiloritis on Crete (2,456m). The zone includes parts of the areas of Heraklion (Dafnes), Agia Varvara (Agia Varvara; Agios Thomas; Ano Moulia; Douli; Larani; Megali Vrysi; Prinias), Gorgolaini (Agios Myron; Ano Asites; Kato Asites; Pentamodi; Petrokefalo), Paliani (Avgeniki; Venerato; Kerasia; Pyrgos; Siva) and Rouva (Gergeri, Panasos). PDO Dafnes is the largest of three successive PDO zones (PDO Archanes and PDO Peza being the other two), occupying the northern and central part of the Heraklion region. The Cretan red variety of Liatiko, which is included in the composition of PDO Sitia, has demonstrated tremendous potential with regard to the production of sweet wines. In recent years, many of the area’s wine growers have produced samples of such wines and, in that manner, possibly indicating future trends. Of the wineries active within the zone, eight produce dry as well as sweet PDO Dafnes wines in some cases. Variety Liatiko 100% Wine types Dry red Sweet red PDO Zitsa The Zitsa plateau is situated in the central and western part of the Ioannina district in the region of Epirus, at an average altitude of 650m.