Prosek/Prosecco: confusing? The EU says yes

prosecco_prosekCroatia is set to become the 28th member state of the EU on July 1. Yet the membership has hit a vinous snag: the EU requires that winemakers drop the local wine name “Prosek” since it sounds too much like Prosecco from Italy. Yet the two wines are different since Prosek is sweet, still and centuries-old while Prosecco is (mostly) dry, fizzy and a more recent creation.

“I can’t even think what would happen if our Prosek disappears,” a leading maker of the wine told the AP. He continued, “Every house here has been making Prosek. Taking Prosek away from Dalmatia would be like taking away the sea.”

What do you think–a travesty or necessary? Either way, I’m sure the “Champay” producers of red sweet wine from Turkey are reconsidering their EU support.

9 Responses to “Prosek/Prosecco: confusing? The EU says yes”


  1. Very aggravating for Croatia. What if they called it Croat-Prosek? or Prosek-Dalma? There must be a way. On a lesser note, an event I attend used to be called Wine-Down-Wednesdays, but some other facility in another state said that they had that name first, so our event’s name was changed to Wine and Dine Wednesdays. I’m still aggravated.


  2. This is the same thing that happened to Tocai Friulano. We lost the fight to keep Tocai, so I doubt a compromise like “Croat-Prosek” will be acceptable.
    Just as the Friulani had to accept the loss of their beloved “Tocai”, so will Croatia have to accept the loss of Prosek. If not, the travesty will be letting one nation keep its confusing name and another forced to change it…


  3. Death by a thousand bureaucratic cuts. A race to the bottom which disregards the consumer’s intelligence and ability to distinguish one category from another. See Gilliam’s film Brazil. Brussels’ dystopian Europe is there.


  4. Totally second Wayne’s comment above: same situation as in the Tokaji/Tocai dispute. There cannot be a different outcome in this instance, although personally I think the decision the EU made back then was as wrong as the new one is going to be.


  5. sounds prostupid


  6. Sorry, This is just silly.

    The two words have only a couple of the same letters. They are not pronounced the same.
    Or anonther way of stating it is viva la prosek.


  7. As with Stefan and Wayne remember the same situ for Tocai Fruilano – http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20080218_5.html. In this case, (and tbh also in the case to Tocai) I’m not in the least confused. How do they draw these lines? Something has the same first few letters and people cannot tell the difference between them?


  8. There is another problem that just made the headlines a couple of weeks ago. We (Croats) might be denied on using Teran (grape variety name) for wines from Istria because Slovenians already registered Teran. Interesting thing is that their Teran isn’t even made from Teran grapes, but Refosk (refosco).

    Here are some articles on it, as covered by int’l press:

    http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/04/croatia-claims-true-teran-is-istrian/
    http://www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/13795-croatia-fights-for-right-to-use-teran-on-labels-


  9. and yet Germany is still allowed to use the name burgundy in ‘Weissburgunder’ and ‘Spatburgunder’.

    This is not about bureaucrats, but economic politics.


winepoliticsamz

Wine Maps


Monthly Archives

Categories


Blog posts via email

@drvino on Instagram

@drvino on Twitter




winesearcher

quotes

One of the “fresh voices taking wine journalism in new and important directions.” -World of Fine Wine

“His reporting over the past six months has had seismic consequences, which is a hell of an accomplishment for a blog.” -Forbes.com

"News of such activities, reported last month on a wine blog called Dr. Vino, have captivated wine enthusiasts and triggered a fierce online debate…" The Wall Street Journal

"...well-written, well-researched, calm and, dare we use the word, sober." -Dorothy Gaiter & John Brecher, WSJ

jbf07James Beard Foundation awards

Saveur, best drinks blog, finalist 2012.

Winner, Best Wine Blog

One of the "seven best wine blogs." Food & Wine,

One of the three best wine blogs, Fast Company

See more media...

ayow150buy

Wine books on Amazon: