<p>European artisans, particularly cheese makers from Italy, are digging in their heels in recent trade negotiations about whether or not American-made varieties can be labeled with “traditional” European names. The folks from Parma, Italy are yelling the loudest. They are having a fit that Parmesan cheese from Wisconsin has won prestigious international awards over the stuff made in Italy, for example. And of course it’s not just cheese. Years ago the French insisted that bubbly wine produced anywhere else is “sparkling wine” and not Champagne. Some of current prohibitions already have the force of law.</p>
<p>Before you start laughing (well, I admit I laughed), think about the economics of this dispute. Our EU friends fear that big US food firms may begin to dominate artisan producers in Europe if the EU gives in to this element of the latest free trade proposals. I think they have a point. One of my own peeves are US ham producers who lately have begun to market traditional southern cured ham as “American Prosciutto Ham.” Huh? “Prosciutto” is simply the Italian word for “ham,” isn’t it? And it’s no secret that the Americans want to cash in on the premium price point enjoyed by the ham companies in Italy. Hey, I love dry-cured ham from Virginia and the Carolinas, but it’s not Prosciutto and I don’t want to pay $100 a pound for it.</p>
<p>The L.A. Times article points out that the Europeans have some allies on this side of the pond in California vintners, who fear cheap imports of imitation Napa Valley wines from China might be coming down the road (there’s already a thriving trade in faux truffles from China) if the new trade proposals are adopted for USA-EU trade. I do wonder why this is a battle now. In U.S. stores you can buy “Swiss Cheese” produced from several counties, including Ireland, which is about as far from Switzerland as you can get.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call it ‘yelling’ and ‘having a fit’. They are trying to protect their intellectual property. Some California wine producers want to protect the name Napa, other California wine producers still go ahead selling champagne. Obviously those who want to copy prefer less protection, those who have created something of value want more protection.</p>
<p>In my opinion, agitating for changing an award category after someone else won because they produced a better product than you qualifies as having a fit. A hissy fit at that. Wisconsin won the international Paremesan competition and the Italians were dang upset about it.</p>
<p>Sorry, for the snob in me, I won’t buy any fresh fruits/vegs from China. Same discrimination from South America like Chile. But I would buy from Mexico because it’s much closer to Southern Cal. </p>
<p>I am no fan of Chinese wine yet, although I have tried it fairly often. You are not very good at selecting if you can’t pick an excellent wine from Chile. A long time ago, California wine was a joke, then Washington wine, East Coast wines, Canadian, and English. Even English wine can be pretty good these days. However bad or good Chinese wine is or becomes, you still won’t want them calling it Napa.</p>
<p>No, we’re used to fine wine from Napa valley.
In fact, my husband just opened one for cooking and it’s 2009 Robert Mondavi’s Cabernet Sauvignon for beef stew because we don’t drink red wine as much. It’s smell really good.</p>
<p>I know they must have good wine but I used to live near Napa Valley so I’m going to support California wine. I don’t even buy French wine either.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with using concrete barrels, and it is not unique to Chile. You may have managed to find an awful Chilean wine, but there is awful wine in every wine producing country. </p>
<p>Hmmm Sorghum, I seemed to have hit a nerve.</p>
<p>The truth of the matter is that when I began to regularly purchase wine I started out with stuff from Chile, on the recommendation of a friend who is much more well versed on wines than I. Wines from Chile were inexpensive and tasty. There are very good Chilean wines (just like there is good fruit shipped from Chile, like their apples). But I’ve read that American vintners turn down their noses at the stuff aged in concrete barrels; but what do I know? These days I buy less Chilean wine only because I’ve found better deals on wines from Spain and Portugal, countries whom apparently are also very serious about place of origin labeling.</p>
<p>Remember the last Olympics when our “Greek” yogurt couldn’t get off the ships?
What names will we use? I can’t believe it’s not cheddar is already taken.
This is not Gouda? </p>
<p>There’s a big difference between producing fake labels and declaring a food to be a recognized type. No one expects that Parmesan cheese comes only from Parma or Swiss from Switzerland, just like no one in Boston demands exclusive use of the terms Boston creme pie, Floridians Key lime pie or Californians California roll. We don’t expect French onion soup to come from France or Italian bread from Italy. We could make a fuss and declare American ownership of American cheese, but of course no one would care because no one in the rest of the world eats the horrid stuff.</p>
<p>Sue - good one! I think we are better off pretending to not even know what that awful stuff is called. </p>
<p>Eons ago, the International Olympic Committee tried to threatened some local businesses to take them to court for the unlawful use of the name “Olympic.” The businesses pointed out that they were located on the Olympic Penninsula and were free to use the geographic name, but the Committee was welcome to sue the US for naming a part of its land with their trademarked name. ;)</p>
<p>Just went to Trius winery in Ontario Canada. They had wine being made in concrete containers imported from France as well as stainless steel containers imported from France and oak barrels. The tour guide didn’t talk about the different flavors from using each of the different vessels, but said the concrete is the most recent method they’re experimenting with and they had two concrete containers in their winery.</p>
<p>If an Italian company slapped a “Wisconsin Cheese” label on one of their regional products, the folks at the Wisconsin Cheese consortium would “scream”. Because, as they say on their own web site, “where it comes from matters”. Even in Italy, a grana cheese made outside of the Parma area (and there are hundreds of them) is NOT called Parmesan (Parmagiano) . Parmesan MEANS from Parma. And that , in fact, does signify something. They take their regional appellations even more seriously than we take our corporate appellations. </p>
<p>I just like Swiss cheese, I do not care who makes it, but I care about price vs taste. So, I basically buy one kind at Costco, I do not remember which one, I jsut grad familiar package… whoever makes it, I say “Thank you”</p>
