New Deal To Protect Prestigious European Wines
- December 4th, 2008
- Posted by Daniel Challis
Australia and the European Union have signed a trade agreement that will better protect European wines as well as open up markets for Australian producers in Europe.
The deal, struck in Brussels on Monday, will see Australian wine producers having to cease labelling their wines that relate to European Geographical Locations (GLs) and traditional expressions, which the EU sees as a significant marketing advantage in the wine industry.
More money is to go to help European producers rebuild their vineyards for competition against “New World” producers like the Australians.
Europe clamps down, again, on the counterfeiters; worries a little about the supply of bubbly, and welcomes some fresh and contemporary Australian art to Paris. 
Worries about the quality of French wine; it’s significantly decreasing, according to a report by a consumer group. 
Australian wine producers have marked a pocket revolution celebrating annual export sales of A$3-billion for the first time – led by a surge in demand for red wine in bottles. 
Changing over from former subsidies regimes to global competition is not plain sailing.