WineLovers Discussion Group

Interesting article in today's NYTimes:
NYTimes:CroatianWines

on the EU forbidding two traditional Croatian wines:
1. Prosek (probably some carets in there) is a passito dessert wine made by drying grapes in the attics or straw mats. The Italians assert that wine would be confused for Prosecco. Yeah...sure.
2. Teran: The Slovenians object to a red wine the Croatians label as "Teran"...claiming it would be confused with their "Terran". This one is puzzling because Terran/Teran is a grape varietal name and, if the Croatians are making it from this variety...how could that be illegal?? The Croatians have long made Teran up on the Istrian Peninsula.

Seems the EU bureaucrats are dealing w/ piddling little problems when they could be going after bigger targets...like Burgundians labeling their red wine as PinotNoir.

Tom

Thanks for giving a precis of the article instead of just a bare link.

'Hammers winemakers' seems a bit OTT though, no country has to join the union and every member has, I suspect, had to make adjustments, with the earliest members getting the first pick of names/rights, though even they have had to adjust when newcomers with a better claim has joined.

Off the top of my head, France losingTokay d'Alsace, and Italy losing Fruila (though Italy recently pulled a coup d'main with grabbing the name of the grape Prosecco exclusively for itself).

I can see only the barest mention of teran and what the issue is - the paper doesn't say its an EU edict just that "Slovenia said Croatia had no right to produce and market [the red wine] teran."

If it's a name issue why would they need to stop producing it? Renaming it is all that is required...

Tom, you are comitting sacrilege against the Burgundians. I suppose you might also suggest that some Californian PN producers are following their example?

Peter May wrote:Off the top of my head, France losingTokay d'Alsace, and Italy losing Fruila (though Italy recently pulled a coup d'main with grabbing the name of the grape Prosecco exclusively for itself).
I can see only the barest mention of teran and what the issue is - the paper doesn't say its an EU edict just that "Slovenia said Croatia had no right to produce and market [the red wine] teran."
If it's a name issue why would they need to stop producing it? Renaming it is all that is required...

OTT?? Moi??? Surely you jest, Peter???

My impression is that the EU bureaucrats are more than eager to upold any kind of protest from a client state, no matter
how flimsy the evidence presented. But that's just my impression.
The Tokay d'Alsace and TokaiFriuliano case is one such point. The Hungarians objected to that usage as it would confuse those
wines w/ Hungarian Tokaji. Gimmee a break...where's the common sense here??
The Slovenes continue to use their name for that grape...Tokaj. Don't know if the Slovenians are not part of the EU or that
the Hungarians haven't raised the issue (yet).
Tom