Italy exports more Prosecco than ever

According to the association, Italy exported more Prosecco than ever before in the first four months of this year. The companies delivered more than 120 million bottles (0.75 liters each) during this time, said the Italian agricultural association Coldiretti. That is an increase of 17 percent over the same period of the previous year. In Germany, the Italian prosecco exporters recorded the strongest increase in sales with 29 percent in this period comparison. The USA was the largest customer. In the UK, the association noted a nine percent decline during this period. The association attributed this to the bureaucratic hurdles in connection with Brexit. For the sparkling wine exporters there are problems with the customs procedures. The association fears that this could bring Prosecco counterfeits onto the market in Britain. Prosecco is a designation of origin for Italian sparkling or sparkling wines that has been protected by the EU since 2010. Prosecco may only be mentioned if it was produced with Glera grapes exclusively from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and the provinces of Belluno, Padova, Treviso, Venice and Vicenza in the Veneto region. The vinification, i.e. the processing of the grapes into sparkling wine, as well as the bottling of the Prosecco, may only take place in the regions mentioned. The attempt by Croatia to have its local white wine Prosek protected by the EU as a name recently caused trouble. Italy wants to defend itself against it, because the name is clearly in conflict with the name Prosecco, so the accusation. There was even talk of the "Prosecco War". In 2013, Croatia failed with a similar attempt. For two years now, the Prosecco growing areas in Friual Julisch Venetien and in Veneto have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.