New wine trade agreement between the EU and Australia comes into force

According to the agreement Australian producers will no longer be able to use expressions such as `Sherry´ `Champagne´ or `Porto´ to describe their wines

09/07/2010

The agreement between the EU and Australia governs wine trade between both countries © Fernando Madariaga / ICEX

As of 1st September 2010, a new agreement governing wine trade between the EU and Australia came into force. The agreement, which replaces the one signed in 1994, aims to protect the traditional terms used to describe European wines in order to differentiate them from Australian wines. Signed two years ago by the former EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariann Fischer Boel and the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, this agreement is the result, according to its instigators, of the good faith shown by the parties concerned in searching for mutual benefits for both countries.

The agreement provides for the gradual phasing out of terms such as `Sherry´, `Champagne´ and `Porto´ on Australian wine labels, as well as other traditional terms used for EU wines like the Spanish `Amontillado´, the French `Claret´ and the German `Auslese´, which comes into effect as from 1^st September 2011. In addition, the agreement also protects the EU wine labelling system and sets out the requirements needed in order for Australian wines to use the wine terms `cream´ and `vintage´ on the bottle.

As regards Spanish wines, almost 40 traditional terms used to name wine have come under the protection of the agreement, including the stamps of quality: ‘Denominación de Origen’ (DO), and ‘Denominación de Origen Calificada’ (QDO), as well as the different wine categories which are applicable to almost every Spanish appellation.

For Dacian Cioloş, the current EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, this agreement protects European interests, safeguarding EU wine Geographical Indications not only in Australia but also in the rest of the world. Last year, Australia wine exports to the EU exceeded €643 million, yet only €68 million were exported by the EU to Australia.

The full agreement can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of the page.