Wine Law

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN 73 products9. The enhancement of new winemaking techniques, through certification trademarks, may certainly constitute a remarkable development of the wine sector, in terms of quality and innovation. In particular, Italian certification trademarks may develop heroic viticulture, i.e. a wine production over a certain altitude. Several Italian regions, such as Liguria, Trentino Alto-Adige and Sicily, have traditional wine productions on mountains, steep hills and volcanic regions. Furthermore, according to the recent reform, introduced by Decree-Law 20 February 2019, no. 15, all the existent collective trademarks have been converted, since 31 December 2020, in the new collective trademarks or certification trademarks. It should be interesting to analyse the percentage of old collective trademarks converted in certification trademarks in the wine sector. Plus, in order to make the reform more effective and promote export’s market, the Italian Government has recently approved a decree, on 15 January 2020, aimed at guaranteeing a financial aid to activities of promotion abroad, concerning collective and certification trademarks. So, from this initiative, it is clear the deep connection between the economic development and these new categories of trademarks, in which the wine sector may play a significant role. 4. SANCTIONS DUE TO THE INFRINGEMENT OF DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS The effectiveness of the protection of Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications largely depends on the sanctions provided for by the legal system and on the concrete application of the judges’ relevant rules. Therefore, it should be mentioned that, in recent years, the Parliament and the Government have been trying to strengthen the rules against infringement, with the Courts, at the same time, issuing noteworthy decisions. This trend also stems from the fact that the growing importance of designations of origin and geographical indications has brought infringers to intensify their unlawful behaviours to profit from the original DOs and GIs’ qualitative characteristics and gain important market shares. 9 It is worth considering that the winemaking system, brought to Italy by Irish monks in the early Middle Age, characterised by a lower alcoholic degree and by the conservation in barrels, has shaped wine production, overcoming the ancient Romans’ wine, which was always mixed with water, due to its high alcoholic degree. That technique, which spread through the entirety of Europe, determined the modern winery’s most significant characteristics. Similarly, the innovative fermentation method of sweet wines, designed by the French monk Pérignon, in the 18th century, has introduced a new product, appreciated all over the world, champagne.

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