Napa now on the EU map

By DAVID STONEBERG, For the Register

Vintners can’t make Champagne in the Napa Valley. Now, vintners in any of the 27 states that make up the European Union can’t make Napa or Napa Valley wines.

The Napa Valley officially has been recognized with the Geographic Indication status as a protected name in the European Union, the first time a non-EU member has been granted such status. The GI status was sealed by the May 10 publication of the “Official Journal of the European Union,” said Terry Hall, communications director for the Napa Valley Vintners, the trade group representing nearly 300 local wineries.

The NVV’s goal is to have a trademark on the names “Napa” and “Napa Valley,” Hall said. Unless at least 85 percent of grapes used in a wine are grown in Napa or the Napa Valley, the winemaker cannot use those geographical designations on the wine label. Currently, there are nine brands of wine sold in the EU using the Napa name.

“This represents a significant win in the continuing fight to protect the Napa name around the world,” said Peter McCrea, president of the NVV board of directors. “Our vintners and growers have worked hard for more than 100 years to make Napa Valley a winegrowing region second to none in the world. When misleading labels on bottles overseas lead a consumer to believe that a wine is from Napa when it is not, that is deceptive and undermines the reputation for quality associated with our region.”

In a related effort, the NVV spent millions of dollars fighting Bronco Wine Company, which marketed wines that used Napa place names without getting the majority of grapes from the region. The vintners advocated for a law that protected the names, and then successfully battled Bronco in court over enforcement of the law.

Recently, other wine regions in California, including Sonoma, have sought similar laws.

The GI status in the European Union will be celebrated at a Thursday afternoon reception at the German Consulate in San Francisco. It will be hosted by Karsten Teitz, consul on Cultural and Press Affairs for the German Consulate and Jean-Marc Trarieux, agricultural attaché of the European Commission to the United States. Trarieux is based in Washington, D.C.

The granting of GI status represents a landmark in wine place protection, said NVV’s Executive Director Linda Reiff.

“We now have a legal precedent to base our trademark protection on in Europe,” said Reiff. “Napa Valley has been officially recognized and this will clarify all cases we bring to court on those brands that falsely use Napa Valley in its branding.”

NVV officials began work on gaining GI status about two years ago. A group of vintners, including Tom Shelton, Dawnine Dyer and Clay Gregory — all past NVV presidents — traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with Trarieux to seek GI status for Napa Valley. (Currently NVV officials are working on resolving 33 trademark issues throughout the world, Hall said, including those in China and Vietnam.)

Although among the 27 EU states the concept of Geographic Indications is established, a system to protect a name outside the EU was not in place, so in November 2005, NVV’s request was denied.

In March 2006, a group of vintners again traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, chairs of the Congressional Wine Caucus, officials from the Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau and officials of the European Commission, including Trarieux.

At that time, it appears EU officials recognized the merits of the argument to protect the Napa Valley name. In a speech in Santiago, Chile, Peter Mandelson, European commissioner for the EU’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke about EU and Chile issues. Among those he brought up was the protection of Geographic Indications. “In contrast, we have yet to find common ground in the protection of GIs — place names that offer a hallmark of distinction and quality — products made by farming communities in distinct areas like Bordeaux or Napa Valley or Maipo Valley if you make wines,” he said.

In July, Reiff and attorney Richard Mendelsohn, of the Napa firm of Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty, traveled to Brussels to meet again with EU leaders to find a diplomatic solution to the problem. In late January, the EC governing board approved the status for Napa Valley and Maipo Valley, Chile. It became official with its May 10 publication.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009