(ANSA) - Udine,
January 2 - A traditional dry white wine produced here in the northeast
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region began the new year without a name.
Originally known as Tocai, the wine today finds
itself caught in a tangled web of regional laws, ministerial decrees and rulings
past and future from regional courts and the European Court of Justice in
Luxembourg.
According to the Friuli-Venezia Giulia branch of
Federdoc, an association which groups together producers of quality wines, ''the
situation has become unacceptable. It would almost be comical if it was not so
serious from so many points of view''.
''As it stands today, chambers of commerce which must
register the Friuli wine for 2008 cannot do so because they don't know what to
call it,'' Federdoc added.
The wine can no longer be called Tocai because the
Luxembourg court ruled in 2005 that the name was too similar to the one of a
traditional Hungarian wine, Tokaj.
The court concluded that based on international
treaties, including one in 1993 through which Hungary began to negotiate its
entry into the European Union, Italy could not use Tocai because the name
'Tokaj' was an implicit reference to a specific geographical area, located 125
miles east of Budapest.
Tocai and Tokaj are completely different. Tokaj is a
honey-colored sweet or semi-sweet dessert wine, while the Friulano wine is white
and tart.
The name change was to have gone into effect last
March 31 but was delayed until the end of 2007 because of court appeals.
In view of the EU ban, it was initially decided to
change the name of the Italian wine to Friulano, after the grape it is made
from: Tocai Friulano or just Friulano.
However, this was opposed by some producers who
insisted the wine be called Tocai Friulano and took the issue through the
regional court system on the grounds that the name change would confuse buyers.
Veneto, a neighboring region where Tocai is also
produced and where the grape originated, decided in October to call its wine
Tai, a choice which won the unanimous approval of the national committee
responsible for naming of vines and wines.
The name also got a thumb up from Agriculture
Minister Paolo De Castro who was quoted as saying that it ''offers a concrete
response to producers, guaranteeing their expectations''.
Producers in Friulia-Venezia Giulia did not go along
with the name idea and most opted to call their wine Tocai Friulano for domestic
consumption and just Friulano for export.
However, a hardcore group of producers in the region
blocked this again through local courts and insisted on keeping the name Tocai
even for exports.
They have now taken the issue back to the EU court in
Luxembourg on the basis of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
Among other things, TRIPS contains requirements that
nations' laws must respect for geographical indications, including appellations
of origin.
TRIPS gives countries the right to recognize at home
the name of a domestic wine which is the same as geographic denominations in
other countries.
In an attempt to resolve the problem, the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region this week hosts a meeting between its experts and
lawyers together with those from the agriculture ministry, consortiums of
regional wine producers and sector organizations.
''This is a very crucial moment and it is our hope
that this meeting will help to avoid a stalemate,'' Federdoc said.
The EU court ruling on Tokaj was similar to one
stating that the name champagne or anything similar can only be used for the
sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France.
Italy has battled to have the exclusive right to the
names of wines like Chianti and Brunello.
