By Andrew Starke
It is no longer possible for Australian wine suppliers to produce or label local wine with a range of descriptions including Burgundy, Chablis or Champagne but grace periods have been established for existing labelled stocks.
An agreement between Australia and the European Union, which came into force on September 1 last year, meant the Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980 was amended to prevent the production of Australian wine described or presented with certain geographical indications and traditional expressions after September 1, 2011.
From this month it is no longer possible to produce and label Australian wine described with any of the following terms: Amontillado, Auslese, Burgundy, Chablis, Champagne, Claret, Fino, Graves, Manzanilla, Marsala, Moselle, Oloroso, Port, Sauternes, Sherry, Spatlese, and White Burgundy.
It is also no longer be possible to use the term ‘Hermitage’ as a synonym for the grape variety ‘Shiraz’.
The term ‘Lambrusco’ may now only be used in relation to Australian wine produced from Lambrusco grapes.
However, provision has been made for the continuing sale of Australian wine lawfully produced and labelled before the September 1 deadline.
”So, for example, an Australian ‘Lambrusco’, not made from Lambrusco grapes, but bottled and labelled before September 1, 2011 can continue to be traded at a wholesale level for a further three years,” said a spokesperson for Wine Australia.
Wine in the retail trade before the end of that three year period can continue to be sold until stocks are exhausted.
In the case of terms that refer to fortified wine (Amontillado, Fino, Manzanilla, Marsala, Oloroso, Port, Sherry) the relevant period for sale of existing stock is five years, rather than three.
Does this mean that Holden may have to rebadge their Calais? Maybe we could call it the Holden Wagga Wagga
or possibly the Holden Broken Hill