New wine deal with Europe will see an end to Australians exporting "prosecco"

A new Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement will see the removal of tariffs on Australian wine exports to EU member states - but will mark the end of exporting Australian wines labelled as Prosecco. 

Australian wine exported to the European Union will not be subjected to tariffs upon entry, resulting in an expected saving of $14.5 million per year, a deal welcomed by umbrella body Australian Grape & Wine (AGW).

But the deal means the EU's position that prosecco is a protected trade mark means Australian sparkling wines will have to use a new name for their product in those markets. 

I recommended the adoption of OzSecco, or AusSecco, a couple of years ago but the wine industry is very slow to pivot. 

AGW said today: "The industry position is that prosecco is a grape variety, in the same way that shiraz or chardonnay is, and they shouldn’t have to change the name of it; consumers know what it is. etc."

The body says it has “welcomed key elements of the Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement, including the removal of tariffs on Australian wine exports to EU member states” while highlighting the “significant implications” the agreement will have for producers exporting Australian prosecco.

The CEO of AGW, Lee McLean, said that the tariff outcome was a “commercially meaningful result for the sector”.

“The removal of tariffs on Australian wine entering the EU is good news for our exporters and for the long-term competitiveness of Australian wine in a major global market."

Australian prosecco producers will retain the right to call their wines prosecco in the domestic market but will no longer be able to export Australian wine labelled prosecco to Europe, following a 10-year phase out period.

“We continue to maintain that prosecco is a grape variety and that efforts to restrict its use are nothing more than protectionist measures used to distort trade to the advantage of EU producers," McLean said. 

"This is clearly a blow for those Australian producers who currently export Australian prosecco, who will need to transition away from using that term for export markets."