Two London wine entrepreneurs are set for a High Court battle after the Italian consortium that protects Prosecco accused them of selling fake fizz and misusing the protected name. The Consortium for the Protection of Controlled Designation of Origin Prosecco (Consorzio) claims that father-and-son Michael and Ralph Goldstein, along with their company Prosecco International Ltd, have infringed trademark rights by marketing non-genuine sparkling wine as Prosecco on websites including Prosecco.com and Proseccodoc.com.
The Goldsteins, behind the Bella Principessa brand, deny any infringement and argue that their white and rosé sparkling wines meet the Prosecco specification. Judge Richard Hacon noted that the defendants' evidence on this point “seems persuasive” but still ordered the case to proceed to a full trial. Prosecco has been a protected designation of origin since 2009, restricted to wines from specific areas of north-eastern Italy.
Consorzio alleges a “long list of acts” constituting infringement of EU regulations, now part of UK law, and of the PROSECCO certification mark. The judge explained that the claim focuses on the use of the Prosecco name on websites targeting the UK and on bottles of Bella Principessa wine. The consortium does not accept that these wines conform to the Protected Designation of Origin specification.
The Goldsteins and their company maintain that both the Brut and Rosé Bella Principessa wines are genuine Prosecco, produced in the Veneto region in partnership with a fourth-generation winery. They also argue that Consorzio is suing the wrong target, as the domain names are owned by a US drinks company. The judge rejected their bid to strike out the claim, allowing the case to proceed.
