TODAY CROATIA OFFICIALLY JOINED THE EU, AND THE FIRST CHALLENGES ARE ABOUT WINE: ITALY IS AGAINST THE USE OF THE NAME "PROSHEK" AND SLOVENIA DEFENDS ITS “TERRANO”

Croatia officially became part of the European Union today, and after celebrations in the streets, the first disputes to be addressed are about wine: one is the name Proshek for the Dalmatian Muscat wine, which is very similar to the Venetian bubbly wine, and the other is Terrano that the Slovenian winemakers are contesting.

The dispute in some ways is similar to the one a few years ago with Hungary and Tocai wine, although there is a really big difference between the two wines this time: the Croatian Proshek is a traditional Dalmatian sweet and soft wine, usually served after meals, produced using the method of drying grapes before fermentation, while the Italian Prosecco is Charmat method and since 2009 is a DOC brand name and under EU protection.
The dispute is not about the type of wine, but the name, which is too similar to the Italian one and could mislead or confuse consumers in Europe.

The first signs of a likely dispute occurred recently with the MEP of the Italian political party Lega Nord, Mara Bizzotto, who asked the European Commission to require Croatia to renounce the name Proshek. Bizzotto noted that since Croatia has been accepted into the EU, their wine can be marketed in the EU and "the similarity with the name Prosecco is likely to deceive the public and to create economic damage to Italian producers".

350 million bottles sold of Prosecco sold, for a turnover of around one billion euros, so "the EU has the duty to adequately protect the approximately 8.000 producers from imitations produced abroad", says the MEP of Lega Nord. The Association of Croatian wine, on the other hand, has repeatedly stated that if necessary, it is ready for battle, including legal actions, to protect the Dalmatian wine with its original name. "Proshek has been produced in Dalmatia for centuries (recently a bottle was discovered dating back to the 18th century) and we are preparing the documentation in order to preserve our right to sell it under its traditional name", they explained.

The Slovenian issue is quite different and regards Terrano (Teran in Croatian), a dry, sour red wine, typical of Croatian Istria, the Slovene Karst and the areas of Trieste and Gorizia, therefore identical, but produced in three different countries. The use of the name is disputed by the Croatian wine producers in Slovenia, where the wine is protected under the brand name of origin. The Croatian Minister of Agriculture, Tihomir Jakovina, has repeatedly contacted the competent organizations in Brussels, but the formal procedure, both for Proshek and Teran can begin only after Croatia is officially accepted into the EU.
“Right now we are considering various solutions”, explained the Minister Jakovina, - “ including a possible agreement with Italy and Slovenia and the mediation of the European Commission”. One of the ideas proposed is that wine from Istria be called “Istrian Teran”.