Prosecco and Italian cheese: more opportunities with the EU-Australia agreement

The EU-Australia trade agreement does not raise any concerns in the Italian food & wine sector, but only great expectations for development. Although alarm has been raised somewhere about possible concessions on quality food products, especially the Dop and Igp brands, in reality the protections seem more than sufficient to the agri-food companies, but - above all - the focus is on the opportunities that the agreement opens up thanks to the expected drastic cut in tariffs.

The main concerns arose over Prosecco, which Australians produce together with cheeses called Parmesan, Gorgonzola or Romano. These are productions that, in the vast majority of cases, are started by second- and third-generation emigrant entrepreneurs from Italia. Products that often have as little to do with the originals as a somewhat blurred family memory.

Australian Prosecco, for example, has long been made from grapes other than Glera (the grape variety of the Veneto bubbles) and therefore cannot structurally present the same characteristics as Italian Prosecco. Also for this reason, and despite the fact that Glera vines have also been planted in Australia in recent years, it is not experienced by Italian producers as a real threat.

"The agreement provides for Prosecco to be recognised and protected as a Geographical Indication,' explains the president of the Consortium of Prosecco Doc, Giancarlo Guidolin. 'In addition, a ten-year phasing out period is envisaged in which they will be able to market their Prosecco in the Australian domestic market and in markets where Prosecco Doc is not protected or registered. These are a few countries in Africa and only temporarily (stocks are expected to run out) New Zealand. The other important news is that they will be able to continue selling it in Australia but writing 'Australian Prosecco' on the label and avoiding images such as gondolas or Italian landscapes. Which also means putting an end to the evocation of our product. Certainly this is a more restrictive scenario than the current framework. And this can only please us'.

At the Prosecco Doc Consortium, therefore, they express satisfaction on the conclusion of a path started in 2014. In fact, the first trip to Australia by Prosecco producers dates back to that time, to try to initiate a confrontation with local vignerons in order to reach a compromise solution. "Confrontation that," Guidolin added, "thanks to the efforts of the European Commission and the governments that have succeeded one another in recent years, has finally come to a conclusion with the recognition, also by Australia, of our GI. Also very important are the rules that provide that Australians can continue to use the name Prosecco but only as a varietal indication and with strict labelling rules to prevent consumers from being misled as to the true origin of the wine'.