Singapore says "no" to Australian prosecco

A Singapore court has slammed the door shut on Australian wine producers looking to use the word "prosecco" to describe their sparkling wines.

The Court of Appeal said this week that the term “prosecco” can be used in Singapore "exclusively for wines produced in a specific region in Italy", as requested by Prosecco producers.

It rejected the arguments of Australian winemakers opposing the move, The Straits Times reported.

Australian producers argue that prosecco is the name of a grape variety, while the Italians say it is a geographic indicator.

So Australian winemakers wanting to sell prosecco in Singapore may have to label their wines OzSecco, or AusSecco - my idea, payment to GOTR please. 

A five-judge court ruled that while Australians could demonstrate that “prosecco” was the name of a grape variety, it failed to show that the proposed GI is likely to mislead Singapore consumers as to the true geographical origin of the wine.

It is the first ruling by the Court of Appeal on geographical indications, a type of intellectual property protection which identifies a product as having originated from a particular territory that has given the item its unique characteristics.