The Court of Appeal in Singapore has declared that Australian winemakers are no longer allowed to call their exports “prosecco”.

The country’s highest court has allowed an appeal by an Italian trade body to register the term as a geographical indication (GI) in respect of wines in Singapore.

The decision overturned an earlier lower court ruling in favour of the Australian winemakers.

The Straits Times reported that a five-judge court ruled that while Australia 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.

In May 2019, an Italian consortium set up to market and protect the use of the term “Prosecco” had applied to register the term as a GI at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. It claimed geographical area for the production of “prosecco” wines was a specified region in north-east Italy.

However, in September 2019, the Australian Grape and Wine filed a notice to oppose the registration. A principal assistant registrar said the likelihood of consumers being misled was small in view of the popularity, reputation and renown of Italian Prosecco wines.

She noted that the Italian wines had been sold in Singapore since 2011, with 387,100 litres sold in 2018 alone, while the Australian wines were introduced into the market in 2015, with 9657 litres sold in 2018.

The court considered evidence, including a 2007 catalogue of vine nurseries in which “Prosecco” was officially recognised in the European Union as the name of a vine or grape variety, before it was renamed on Aug 1, 2009, to “Glera”.

Australian wine expert Andrew Caillard MW said it was a “wrong-headed” decision.

“Does that mean Singapore would recognise a new French region called Chardonnay?” he said. “With our reliance on access to European markets, we are vulnerable to reverse engineering of history. It is a surprise that a small city state has thrown such a spanner in the works. This needs to be vigorously challenged.”

EU negotiations collapse

Australian free trade negotiations with the European Union (EU) and Australia failed last month during G7 trade ministers meeting in Japan, with the battle over prosecco being a major sticking point.

There’s a lot at stake in the fight for Australian prosecco. The total value of Australian prosecco production in Australia has grown from just over $60 million in 2017 to an estimated $205 million in 2021.

Around 95% of this is currently sold on the Australian domestic market.

Twenty regions growing the variety, with the majority of production concentrated in Victoria’s King Valley and Murray Valley. 

Australian Grape & Wine Chief Executive Lee McLean said: “We commend the resolve of Trade Minister Don Farrell in walking away from a free trade deal that was not in the best interests of Australian prosecco producers. The Government has made the right decision.

“We are fully supportive of the Australian Government’s decision to step away from ongoing negotiations rather than accept a deal that is not in the interest of Australian prosecco producers or the broader agricultural sector.

“Any outcome that sought to reduce our existing market access would be detrimental to our burgeoning prosecco industry and contrary to the intent of a free trade agreement which seeks to increase market access and remove trade barriers.  Australian prosecco producers just want to retain the right to use “prosecco” as a grape variety in both our domestic and international markets.