<p>Actually, bourbon, and variants like Kentucky Straight Bourbon, are names that the US does seek to protect in trade agreements. Bourbon is admittedly a far classier product than American cheese.</p>
<p>“No one expects that Parmesan cheese comes only from Parma or Swiss from Switzerland…”</p>
<p>Sue22, that is exactly the position that the EU crowd is fighting over. They want to ban the use of particular product names by foreign-based competitors if those products are not manufactured in their “traditional” or ancestral place of origin. They do not want to see Wisconsin cheese stamped with a label that says Parmesan (and sold in Europe, God forbid), no matter how authentically made the Wisconsin product is. I’m sure that Italian Mozzarella producers feel the same way about so-called Mozzarella cheese that is made with cow milk instead of buffalo milk, like in the old country. But of course that horse, er…cattle…has been out of the barn for years.</p>
<p>Clearly, the debate is over potential profits and whose Ox will be gored or who’s sacred cow will be sacrificed (pun intended).</p>
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<p>Closer analogy would be trademark. It’s not like Italy can say that any parmesan “style” cheese can no longer be made in the US. </p>
<p>My edit option seems to be gone…</p>
<p>It would be like if the city of Buffalo decided that any wings prepared outside of the city could no longer be called “Buffalo Wings.” Or Philly with the Phillysteak. </p>
<p>Imagine if they tried doing this with Hamburger (from Hamburg Germany). What would we call it then? It would be madness.</p>
<p>But that’s not what they are essentially saying, Vladenschlutte. They are sore (and fear economic competition) because places like Wisconsin apparently produces fantastic tasting traditional Parmesan cheese. This is an old fashioned tariff war in the making, except it’s not actual fees that they are fighting over. A good analogy is the catfish fight a few years ago here in the U.S. I believe that in the late 1990s, Vietnamese fish companies began to export frozen catfish to the U.S. The stuff sold for much less than domestic catfish. As I understand it, the millionaire catfish farmers from Mississippi and the like were fit to be tied and thus convinced the feds to legislate that, while the Vietnamese and other producers in Asia could import catfish to the U.S., it would be, and remains illegal to call the Vietnamese stuff “catfish.” Here in the U.S., catfish from Vietnam is labeled “Swai.” You would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, alive or filleted.</p>
<p>Vlad, you do know that “trademarks” ARE intellectual property? That’s what the T in the USPTO’s name stands for. Ditto copyrights and trade secrets. Trademarks have their own registration rules, and there are international agreements covering trademarks.</p>
<p><a href=“Trademarks”>http://www.wipo.int/trademarks/en/about_trademarks.html</a></p>
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<p>It’s funny u mentioned this product. I believe u are referring to what the rest of the world calls emmentaler cheese.</p>
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…it would be, and remains illegal to call the Vietnamese stuff “catfish.” Here in the U.S., catfish from Vietnam is labeled “Swai.”[/qoute]</p>
<p>Swai and American catfish are actually different species of fishes.
<a href=“http://www.ehow.com/info_8316361_differences-between-swai-catfish.html”>http://www.ehow.com/info_8316361_differences-between-swai-catfish.html</a></p>
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<p>Yet the Emmental region isn’t up in arms about this. :)</p>
<p>Actually, Americans are not particularly discerning when it come to cheese. We call pretty much anything with holes in it (Jarlsburg, Baby Swiss, etc.) Swiss cheese when sliced and packaged. In the specialty cheese shop one buys Reg-Parm or Grana Padano, Jarlsburg or Emmentaler. Off the shelves of Stop n’ Shop it’s Parmesan cheese or Swiss at half the price!</p>
<p>So you don’t mind Kentucky Straight Bourbon made in Beijing appearing on your local liquor store shelves?</p>
<p>I don’t drink bourbon. ;)</p>
<p>Well, I don’t mind “Russian” vodka made in old Kentucky, though all it took was one taste to swear that I’d never touch that awful brew again. I wasn’t fooled by the Russian name on the label, but I forgot that you get what you pay for. That diesel tasting junk was way cheaper than Stoli or Absolut. For good reason.</p>
<p>Vodka never taste good, no matter the name, brand or whatever eles is on the label. If one wants to drink for taste, vodka is not the drink. People drink vodka to get drunk, not to have a tasting experience. Vodka is about the same as medical alcohol. At least a Russian variety. I do not know if sake is considered vodka or wine. I love the taste of it, I love it hot. But again, got to watch for a brand. The cheaper sake taste pretty bad.
Now, if we want to experience some taste with the hard stuff, many prefer cognac…</p>
<p>Some names are worth fighting to protect, and others aren’t. I think “Swiss cheese” is too generic to protect, but I know that the folks in Vidalia are vigilant about Vidalia onions. There are plenty of examples of this kind of thing in the U.S. Somebody mentioned Key limes–I think that’s another one that the producers in the Florida Keys make efforts to protect as well.</p>
<p>I read an interesting article about Greek yogurt, and a dispute over whether something could be called Greek yogurt if it just had a bunch of thickeners added to it rather than being made in these specialized devices. There’s big money in issues like this.</p>
<p>Swiss cheese is made in US and Canada.
Cheeses that are made in Switzerland are different.</p>
<p>I’m with Miami on vodka. nasty stuff.
I like Scotch, but only to differentiate it from bourbon.
It doesn’t always come from Scotland.</p>
<p>@emeraldkitty. Try vodka with cranberry juice or vodka with grapefruit juice and you might change you mind. No need to buy pricey Grey Goose and the like. Try Sobieski from Poland. As for Scotch, I hear that the best Japanese version comes pretty darn close to the finest from Scotland.</p>
<p>@Hunt. Good point about the onions. The Vidalia growers’ trade organization goes to great lengths to protect the name. I’ve found sweet onions on sale in my neck of the woods marketed as Vidalias when clearly they were not the real deal.</p>
<p>LW, if you like juice-vodka mixes, you might like this stuff for dessert:</p>
<p><a href=“Clear Creek Distillery — Hood River Distillers”>Clear Creek Distillery — Hood River Distillers;
<p>I don’t like vodka. Or rum.
I like gin, scotch & tequila.
And wine if I am in the mood & some kinds of beer.
If I like something, it should be good enough to drink straight.
Maybe I don’t drink gin straight on purpose, but tequila and scotch, no problem.
i try & drink local. That isn’t a problem with beer, I can walk to up to 20 breweries in a 1-2 mile radius.
But my favorite is about a block away.
A good distillery with a single malt that I like (& a Reed connection) is Clear Creek distillery in Portland.
My current favorite winery is Sleight of Hand ( with a Pearl Jam connection) and Lost River.</p>
<p>EK, take a peek at the link I just posted. ;)</p>