Fake prosecco: put a cork in it!

‘Tis the season to be jolly and bottles of fizz are being bought and popped by many of those who celebrate Christmas across across Europe.

But the Italian authorities are feeling far from jolly about the soaring production and sale of fake prosecco and are clamping down on the sale of fraudulent fizz.

Prosecco production is tightly controlled with only sparkling wine made from grapes in the north eastern Italian region of Veneto allowed to use the name.

But, according to the latest report by Italy’s consortium of prosecco producers, the fraudulent use of the name ‘prosecco’ was used mainly online but it was also common to be served another type of sparkling wine at a bar in Italy when ordering a prosecco, the report found.

Data released by the Central Inspectorate of Quality Protection and Fraud Repression, part of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, showed there were 545 fraudulent uses of the name prosecco in a two-year period since December 2014.

Every year, the consortium carries out about 100 inspections across the country, by sending out its agents to stores, bars and wineries to look for any fraudulent bottles or goods that use the prosecco name without authorisation.

When irregularities are noted, the agent then can proceed to ask for samples to have them analysed in a lab.

Wine experts say consumers also need to be wary to make sure they are buying the real thing.

“The more controls there are, the more the culture of prosecco will spread out. Consumers need to be aware and ask for prosecco DOC (controlled origin denomination) or DOCG (controlled and guaranteed origin denomination), depending on what they want, but it needs to be prosecco,” says wine expert Francesco Trimani.

“This is fundamental because, far more serious than fake prosecco bottles is when other kinds of sparkling wines are illegally sold as prosecco.”