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The case is based on the EU recognition of Montalcino
as the only wine region permitted to use the term Brunello.
Brunello is applied to wine made in the Montalcino region from special
Sangiovese grapes known as Grosso. The Californians claim that Brunello
is the name of the grape variety, and conforms to United States wine producers'
use of varietal names to identify their wines.
In the eye of the storm is Petroni Vineyards in Sonoma that has been requested not to use the name Brunello di Sonoma for one of its red wines. Lorenzo Petroni argues that his wine is labeled as being from Sonoma, and says Brunello refers to the type of grape in the wine, and not the place of origin.
Petroni, who is also a restaurateur owning North Beach Restaurant in San Francisco, says "My dream was to produce my favorite red wine from my native Italy, a Brunello made in America'. He is a native of the Tuscan town of Lucca.
"The name Brunello refers to the grape and not
the place where it is produced," says the founder of Petroni Vineyards
and
proprietor of the North Beach Restaurant. "My wine is clearly labeled
as coming from Sonoma, the location of my Poggio alla Pietra vineyard.
Its label has been approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau,
the U.S. government agency that oversees all processes associated with
winemaking and labeling."
It is thus an issue of terroir and libeling. Brunello,
which refers to a strain of the Sangiovese grape, is a name that's protected
under regulations governing the naming of Italy's wines. But unlike Champagne,
Burgundy, Chablis or Port it's not a reference to a specific place.
U.S. regulations do not prohibit the use of the term
Brunello for United States-produced wines and at least three American
wineries produce wines carrying the Brunello name.
In a survey conducted by the well-known website www.wineloverspage.com
in which a limited number of experts have participated so far, the views
are split almost to the middle, with 60% not favoring the use. Whereas
there is general agreement that the producer is taking the benefit of
the popularity of the wine, it is not the clear cut case of a terroir
or region like Champagne, Chablis, Burgundy, Port or Chianti which the
US producers of cheap or not-so-cheap wine had earlier used to the hilt.
Supporters of the use for Sonoma, including Robin Garr
who runs this extremely popular ( and my favorite website, are of the
point of view that if we do not allow the use of Brunello grape (clone
of Sangiovese), in the future France could also hold a case against Napa
Cabernet Sauvignon, as the grape varietal name did originate in Bordeaux.
Whatever the results of the case, this is one battle
that is bound to generate heated debates between the lovers of one of
the best and most loved wines of Italy and the California cavaliers and
it will be interesting to see who wins in the case (between) of Brunello
vs. Brunello.
It is widely accepted that Italian migrants all
over the world try to emulate the best from their country-Brunello can
be no exception. However, Brunello del Montalcino is a composite term
referring to Brunello as well as Montalcino. It refers to the region,
varietal and the terroir. It may be somewhat overpriced in my mind but
that is purely due to its extreme popularity and demand created in the
US- a fact well known to Signor Petroni. It does violate the spirit of
the various agreements and if I were to vote in Robin Garr's survey I
would go against him-editor
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