Comparison
PDO vs PGI
What is the difference between PDO and PGI on a cider label?
In short
A Protected Designation of Origin requires that the product is produced, processed and prepared in the defined area, using raw material from it, and that its qualities are essentially due to that place. A Protected Geographical Indication requires that at least one of production, processing or preparation happens in the area, and that a given quality or reputation is attributable to it.
For cider that difference is usually about the fruit. A PDO cider must be made from fruit grown in its own area; a PGI cider may, depending on its specification, be made in the area from fruit grown outside it.
PGI is the weaker link but not a lesser product. It is the appropriate instrument where a genuine regional tradition exists but the supply chain has never been wholly local, which describes a good deal of English cider.
The two things being compared
Each side described in its own terms first, so the table below has something to hang on.
PDO
Protected Designation of Origin. Every stage — growing, processing, preparation — must occur in the defined area, and the product’s qualities must be essentially attributable to it.
PGI
Protected Geographical Indication. At least one stage must occur in the defined area, and a quality or reputation must be attributable to it.
Where they differ
Dimension by dimension. Where a row needs a qualification, it carries one rather than being simplified until it fits.
| Dimension | PDO | PGI |
|---|---|---|
| Where the fruit must come from | The defined area. | Not necessarily; the specification decides. |
| Which stages must occur in the area | All of them. | At least one. |
| Strength of the link to place | Qualities essentially due to the geographical environment, including natural and human factors. | A specific quality, reputation or characteristic attributable to the origin. |
| Typical cider examples | The French cidre appellations and Sidra de Asturias. | The Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire cider and perry registrations. |
| What the specification controls | Commonly permitted varieties, orchard area, method and analytical parameters. | Varies more widely, and is often less prescriptive on raw material. |
| EnforcementThe protections differ in what they require, not in how vigorously they are defended. | Both are enforced against misuse of the registered name, in the same way. | Both are enforced against misuse of the registered name, in the same way. |
Notes under a dimension name qualify the whole row, not one column.
When PDO is the relevant one
The circumstances in which this is the thing being described, rather than a reason to prefer it.
- The whole chain from orchard to bottle is inside the named area and the specification requires it.
- You are describing a French or Spanish cider appellation.
When PGI is the relevant one
The circumstances in which this is the thing being described, rather than a reason to prefer it.
- The tradition is regional but the fruit supply has never been confined to the region.
- You are describing an English regional cider or perry registration.
A misconception worth clearing up
This comparison exists partly because of the claim below, which is repeated often enough that most readers arrive holding it.
PGI is a watered-down PDO awarded to producers who could not qualify for the stronger one.
What is actually the case: They are different instruments for different situations. A PGI is the correct protection where the link to place runs through reputation and method rather than through wholly local raw material — which is the honest description of many long-established regional products.
Related comparisons
Distinctions that turn on the same thing, or that this one is routinely confused with.
AOC vs IGP
AOC is the French national appellation and IGP the French designation matching the European PGI; both sit inside the same European framework, with AOC corresponding to AOP or PDO.
Cider vs calvados
Calvados is cider distilled and then aged in oak; the cider is the raw material, and the appellation rules govern both the cider that goes in and the spirit that comes out.
English vs French cider
Both use tannic fruit, but French practice organises itself around keeving and natural residual sweetness while English practice ferments out and finishes the cider afterwards.
What people ask next
Questions readers ask about the things this page mentions. Each one goes to the section that answers it rather than to a page written to receive the question.
- What makes french cidre different from english cider — French cidre is generally sweeter, lower in alcohol and naturally sparkling, because the French tradition arrests fermentation by stripping nutrients from the juice rather than fermenting to dryness. English cider is more often fermented out and then blended or back-sweetened.
- Is calvados made from cider
- What is the difference between aoc and igp on a french cider or calvados label
Where to go next
- All comparisons — The rest of the pairs, grouped by what kind of difference is at stake.
- Glossary — Either term on its own, defined without a second thing to hold it against.
- Learn about cider — The background these pages assume, written from the beginning.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
eAmbrosia — the EU geographical indications register
European Commission · designation authority · registered as competent for this subject
The single authoritative register of EU PDO, PGI and TSG names, carrying each product specification. Cider and perry designations across France, Spain and elsewhere resolve here.
UK protected geographical food and drink names register
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · government · passage verified 2026-08-25
The register itself is an index; the substance is in the product specification attached to each entry as a PDF. Eight cider and perry specifications were downloaded and read on 2026-08-24 — the six Three Counties names and the two Welsh ones. Reading them settled a question CiderHQ had previously described in the abstract and got wrong: the Three Counties specifications state a composition table, not a minimum juice content. The Traditional Welsh Perry specification was re-read on 2026-08-25 for the comparison with Austrian fruit-wine law, and its prohibition list transcribed in full: the two instruments turn out to regulate opposite things, one composition and one technique.
European Union · legislation · retrieved 2026-08-24