Prosek is a Croatian tradition that has been produced under this name for hundreds of years

Prosecco has until the end of November to resolve the Prosek issue. Three weeks ago, the Croatian wine published its application for protection of the traditional term, “Prosek”, in the Journal of the European Union Agriculture Commission, (to be precise, not of the denomination, ed.). Therefore, the Veneto and Friuli bubbles - which generate 2 billion euros in turnover – have a little over a month to present a rational objection that the Commission will analyze before adopting a final decision. The Italian front is compact and vast. It starts from local politics and the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, who is front and center, and spreads to the European Union Parliament, including the S&D Coordinator of the Agriculture Commission, Paolo De Castro, and the Minister of Agriculture, Stefano Patuanelli. They are all convinced that the term “Prosek” should not be recognized in the logic of strengthening the PDO and PGI system, of which obviously the three Prosecco denominations are the leading players.
Croatia, instead, can boast the strength of a product that dates back to centuries ago. As the Croatian Minister of Agriculture, Marija Vuĉković stated, “there are very deep roots in the denomination, the typology and production technology of Prosek in southern Croatia. We cannot, therefore, accept the position that it is a copy of the Prosecco name, because our wine has been produced under this name in our territories for hundreds of years. Croatia believes it has met all the conditions for the approval of the application, and I believe we will be able to definitely prove it”. As the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture and the Minister of the Government of Zagreb stated, “Prosek is a traditional term that was first mentioned in 1774. It is a dessert wine produced in the Protected Designation of Origin area that includes northern Dalmatia, central and southern Dalmatia, Dalmatian Zagora and Dingac. There are now 30 producers of Prosek in Croatia, which is, in fact, produced in very small quantities - about 20 hectoliters per year (not even 3.000 bottles, ed.) - and it is almost entirely sold on the domestic market. Croatia”, added the Zagreb Ministry of Agriculture, “had requested the application for recognition of the traditional mention of Prosek, along with a series of other products, but given the exceptional technical complications of the preparation of some applications, the process was temporarily suspended; however, it was understood that the same requests could be put forward again, following full membership of Croatia in the European Union”. Therefore, this is precisely what the Zagreb government has decided to do, legitimately, though it is in obvious contrast with the protection of one of the symbolic denominations of Made in Italy all over the world.