U.S., E.U. Reach An Agreement On Wine Imports
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America and the European Union ended a two-decade wrangle over using the names Champagne and Burgundy, reaching a trade agreement that may open the European market to more wine from American producers such as E. & J. Gallo Winery.
America will restrict the use of names based on European regions from being used on wines from other areas made by the same methods, such as sparkling California wines. In return, the E.U. promised to allow imports of wines that don’t conform to its own production rules. The E.U.-America wine trade is worth $2.8 billion a year.
The E.U. is seeking to protect its wine industry by preserving traditional production methods and names to halt a slide in its share of world markets. Competition from countries including America, Argentina, and Australia has pared the proportion of global exports held by E.U. countries to less than two-thirds from more than three-quarters in 1985.
