No More Famous Croatian Prošek From 1 July

Prošek, which is a famous sweet dessert wine that is traditionally from the southern area of Dalmatia in Croatia made using dried wine grapes, will have to find itself a new name when Croatia enters the European Union.

From 1 July the term “Prošek” will no longer be able to be used in Croatia because the EU believe that the word is too similar to the Italian word “Prosecco”. The absurdity of the decision is highlighted by the fact that the two drinks are not even similar. Prosecco is a sparkling wine while Prošek is a sweet wine and they share no common grapes between them.

To rub salt into the wound, the term is not even allowed to whilst remaining stocks are sold after 1 July. During EU accession negotiations Croatia’s Ministry of Agriculture lobbied for the name to remain but the plea was rejected by the European Commission, saying that term was too close to the Italian term Prosecco which is protected in Italy and in the EU.

The Ministry of Agriculture last week informed producers that from 1 July they will not be able to place their product on the market in Croatia or abroad under the label Prošek.