US GIVES DEFINITIVE GREEN LIGHT TO BRUNELLO IMPORTS
US GIVES DEFINITIVE GREEN LIGHT TO BRUNELLO IMPORTS
(ANSA) - Washington, October 21 - American authorities no longer have any cause to block the imports of the prized Italian wine Brunello di Montalcino, Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia said here.
The green light came from the head of the United States Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), John Manfreda, who met with Zaia on Tuesday.
Last year the TTB had threatened to ban Brunello imports because of revelations that some producers were blending their wine with grapes other than Sangiovese grown inside of Montalcino in Tuscany.
This meant that the wine would not qualify for the official Brunello DOCG designation and could represent a case of fraud.
After what he defined as a ''very cordial'' meeting with Manfreda, Zaia said the measures adopted by the Italian authorities to combat fraud ''were deemed more than sufficient for a full approval of Italian wine imports in the US''.
These imports, the minister recalled, have a commercial value of some three billion euros and ''one of the pillars of our entire food industry'' which need to be protected.
Zaia is in the US to promote Italian agricultural products as well as Italy's battle against fraud and counterfeiting ''which severely damage the Italian economy and farm sector''.
The Italian minister is in New York on Wednesday for a series of high-level meetings, including one with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon which will focus on world food security.
While in New York he will also meet with Italian businessmen operating in the food sector.
In order to appease American authorities, Italy last year stripped the consortium of Brunello producers of its power to certify the authenticity of the wine, a task which was passed to the agriculture ministry's department of inspectors.
Italy also introduced a certificate of label approval (COLA) which states that the product's vintage date and brand name meet the requirements for Brunello di Montalcino DOCG denomination and respects all standards for sale in Italy.
