WINE NEWS - Losing the Prosecco name would be \u2018catastrophic\u2019

The Australian Government is currently conducting free trade negotiations with the European Union (EU) and arguments are being had over whether Prosecco is a geographical indicator (GI), like Champagne, or a grape variety.

The EU maintains Prosecco is a GI and as such has banned the importation of any wine labelled as Prosecco into the EU and also into countries with which the EU has free trade agreements. In addition the EU’s position is that Australian wine producers stop using the name Prosecco on any of their wines as a condition of a trade agreement. They are that the grape variety is Glera, although this term was only introduced by the European Commission in 2010.

Australian wine producers and the Australian Government are arguing that the name Prosecco refers to a grape variety rather than a GI and so they should be allowed to keep using the name.

The Dal Zotto family brought grape vines called Prosecco into Australia in 1997 and since the early 2000s Prosecco has been produced in commercial quantities in Australia.

Michael Dal Zotto told National Liquor News, that it is crucial that the Australian Government holds firm in these negotiations.

“It’s really, really important that we are able to keep using the Prosecco name. It’s critical,” Dal Zotto said.

“For one we don’t want to set an unhealthy precedent around succumbing to pressure and saying, ‘OK it’s not Prosecco any more it’s Glera. It’s been known as Prosecco since the beginning of time, so why all of a sudden should that change and why should we allow it to be changed?

“Secondly it would be detrimental to a number of Australian businesses, when you look at the growth that the variety has seen of late.

Ross Brown of the Brown Family Wine Group is also producing Prosecco out of the King Valley and he agrees that there is no basis to the Italian argument of using the term Glera.

“Prosecco is a grape variety and that is really where our argument starts and finishes. The whole Italian argument of changing the name to Glera is a fraud,” Brown told National Liquor News.

“It’s critical that we keep the Prosecco name, it’s just like telling someone they can’t use Cabernet or Shiraz. It’s the handle that people refer to the grape variety as, it’s also the wine name and if Australia even contemplated giving that away on such a fragile basis you’d have to say there is no European name that’s got any integrity in terms of commercial usage.

Dal Zotto added: “So far the trade ministers and negotiators have all held firm and we really hope that they continue to do so.”

With Prosecco enjoying incredible growth in Australia right now, it’s crucial that this term is kept and that the growth is maintained in this increasingly important category.