Prosecco – what is the deal?

UPDATED 30 July 2024

‘Prosecco’ is widely recognised as a grape variety, but it can’t be used as a grape variety in some markets.

If you are unsure about the situation pertaining to Prosecco in a particular import market, you should liaise with Wine Australia and with your distributor/importer.

Following a decree made under European law in 2009 that the variety Prosecco shall be renamed to Glera, the European Commission (EC) no longer recognises Prosecco as a grape variety, but instead an Italian Geographical Indication (GI).

The Italian Consorzio Di Tutela Della Denominazione Di Origine Controllata Prosecco (the Consortium) has ramped up attempts over last few years to have the GI Prosecco registered in import markets to the exclusion of the use of the term as a grape variety.

For example, in recent years:

in China, the Consortium has successfully registered the Chinese version of Prosecco: '普罗塞克' (‘PU LUO SAI KE in Chinese’),
in Canada, the Consortium has successfully registered Prosecco as a GI,
in Japan, the European Union (EU)–Japan Free Trade Agreement protects the standalone term Prosecco, and
in the United Kingdom (UK), Prosecco is registered as a GI as a result of the UK’s post-Brexit trade and cooperation arrangements with the EU.

Moreover, since late-2023:

on 8 November 2023, the Singapore Court of Appeal ruled that Prosecco can be registered as a GI in Singapore,
on 15 February 2024, Prosecco was registered as a GI in the Philippines, and
on 1 May 2024, the EU–New Zealand free trade agreement entered into force, providing protection for 1,975 EU GIs, including Prosecco.

This poses risk to any party wanting to use the term Prosecco as a grape variety descriptor in those markets. The Consortium could, for example, commence enforcement actions against sales of wine described as Prosecco that is not from the Italian “Prosecco region”.

As above, New Zealand has agreed to protect Prosecco as a EU GI. However, an Australian exporter may continue to use Prosecco in New Zealand until 31 April 2029 if:

if they had made commercial use of the term Prosecco in a continuous manner since before 1 May 2024, and
their continued use of the term Prosecco after 1 May 2024 is accompanied by a legible and visible indication of the geographical origin of the good concerned.

The United States of America (USA) has a bilateral agreement with the EU on wine through which the USA has agreed to protect the Italian GI of Prosecco, the use of the term as a grape variety is still allowed.

The EC has tried to register Prosecco in Australia, which was successfully opposed by Australian Grape and Wine (then known as the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia) on the grounds that it is a grape variety.

If you are unsure about the situation pertaining to Prosecco in a particular import market, you should liaise with your distributor/importer or contact Wine Australia at [email protected].