Prosecco-Prosek, case closed: victory for Veneto bubbles, European standard comes into effect

The Prosecco-Prosek controversy closes definitively, and in the best way, with a victory for the Veneto bubbles: “this name is ours and no one will ever be able to use it in Europe as a “traditional mention” to indicate a wine that only wants to evoke our bubbles, but has nothing Veneto about it. The new European Regulation on geographical indications GI puts, therefore, the word end to an unpleasant affair and this result is the result of great teamwork between institutions, trade associations and consortia that in all venues have defended not only a brand but a wine that expresses the history and identity of Veneto”: thus the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, announcing the publication of the text of the EU Regulation in the European Official Journal, which definitively limits the misleading use of the name Prosek on labels from Croatia or any other member state, generating confusion among consumers.
“I would also like to mention that Prosek is a name that belongs to us”, Zaia continued, “there is a reservation of the name with a 2009 decree that I signed when I was minister, which was recognized by Europe, and there is the pronouncement of UNESCO that, in 2019, declared the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene a World Heritage Site. But there is also a historical motivation: the first mentions of the name “Prosecco”, with reference to wine, date back in deeds to the 14th century, and there is a historical map in which the town of Prosecco, located just west of Trieste, is named Proseck, because of the subjugation, in that historical period, of the area to Habsburg rule”.