In Twist, U.S. Winemakers Defending Varietal’s Name From Foreign Use

U.S. winemakers, long attacked by Europeans for poaching such names as “Chablis” and “Champagne” for their labels, are accusing their transatlantic rivals of some brand larceny of their own.

The winemakers say importers are using the California “Zinfandel” name on some Italian wines made with a related grape, Primitivo. Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, a trade group, has appealed to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to reverse a ruling letting the Italians use the name.

The battle offers a new twist to the failed effort by Europeans to stop U.S. producers from using place names like “Burgundy,” a region in France, or the names of grapes such as Pinot Grigio.

Yet California Zinfandel producers are eager to protect their approximately 12% piece of the $18-billion U.S. wine market, a share second only to wines carrying the name “Chardonnay”--itself a grape that originated in France but that’s now practically synonymous with white wine in the U.S.

“It’s ironic that the Europeans are going after an American term,” said Rebecca Robinson, executive director of Zinfandel Advocates and Producers. “Can’t they stand on their own reputations?”

An Italian trade official said U.S. winemakers have no right to complain.

“If the Americans were to use only American varietal names on their wine, they wouldn’t be making much wine, let me tell you,” said Augusto Marchini, an assistant commissioner at the Italian Trade Commission in New York.

The U.S. trade association, which represents some 240 mostly California producers, including E&J; Gallo Winery, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates Ltd. and Robert Mondavi Corp., says Zinfandel is the only uniquely American winemaking grape.

Robinson met last month in Washington with ATF officials to challenge labels on a series of white and red Italian wines that are made with the Primitivo grape and carry the name “Zinfandel” or varieties of it like “Zin.”

The bureau agreed to review a further appeal from the group in writing, although it warned that any policy that rejects foreign-labeling decisions might require trade negotiations, ATF spokesman Art Resnick said.

The Italians argue that the Zinfandel and Primitivo grapes are so similar the names can be used interchangeably, a claim backed up by the European Union last year.

Zinfandel and Primitivo descend from Plavac Mali, a centuries-old Croatian grape with the characteristics of both, studies show, according to John Chamard of Mainbrace International Ltd., a Canadian wine agent.

The ATF ruled in 1998 that the Zinfandel and Primitivo grapes, while similar and apparently closely related, couldn’t be described interchangeably on wine labels.

Yet the bureau said at a recent meeting it bases its labeling decisions on the rules of the country of origin, in this case the European Union, Robinson said.

So far, Italian Zinfandel is barely trickling into the U.S., yet the volume of imports is expected to grow, even though the popularity of the white variety is shrinking, according to one analyst. Americans, after all, have a taste for Italian wine: Italy is the largest exporter of wine to the U.S., sending about 38 million gallons last year.

Robinson learned of the Zinfandel imports two years ago when a friend in Chicago discovered a store selling an Italian wine named “Mother Zin,” distributed by Abruzzi Imports LLC of Stamford, Conn.

Later examples included a Sinfarosa wine by Accademia dei Racemi labeled to imply it is a Zinfandel, and an Aliante wine with a label declaring: “Primitivo is the origin of Zin.”

Melanie Losey, marketing director of A.V. Imports Inc. of Columbia, Md., acknowledged her company looked at Zinfandel’s popularity and thought “there’s got to be a way for us to capture part of those consumers.”’

A.V. Imports then launched an “aggressive marketing campaign” for “Belmondo Zin,” which sells for about $7 a bottle. The company hopes its imports of 100,000 cases this year will grow to 130,000 or 140,000 next year, Losey said.

The two leading U.S. producers, Sutter Home Winery and Beringer Wine Estates Holdings Inc., sell some 9 million cases of Zinfandel a year at about $6 a bottle, and have nothing to fear from a few Italian imports, Losey said.

Beringer disagrees. “We’ve worked hard to promote the identity of Zinfandel--white Zinfandel and red Zinfandel,” spokesman Tor Kenward said. “I think a lot of Americans feel that it is somewhat their grape.”