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MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Australian growers put end to Italy’s prosecco plan
In the world of wines and spirits, areas of origin always enjoy preferential protection over all other forms of intellectual property
The international Prosecco boom was only easy to predict in retrospect: while it was happening it appeared to be something of a five-minute wonder, with most commentators expecting it to run out of fizz as suddenly as it appeared on the scene. However, now that the category has become large enough to be self-sustaining — at least in Europe — the reasons for its success have become abundantly clear. For a start, Champagne sales had been on the increase and only the 2008 financial crisis had taken the steam out of their year-on-year growth. With more people enjoying fizz — either as an aperitif or as a beverage — another cheaper option was always going emerge. Given the credibility of Italy as a source of good wine at reasonable prices, and the country’s image among fashionistas, Prosecco was poised to take the gap. In fairness, even its producers failed to anticipate what was about to happen — otherwise they would have acted sooner to protect their appellation. Prosecco used to be si...
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