Italian Winemakers Angry Over Paris in a Can

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 6th 2008 at 11:02AM

Paris Hilton is in trouble again but this time, I can't really say is is her fault. The Sunday Times reports that winemakers of northern Italy are fighting to defend against what they say are two threats to their industry, one from Hungary and one from Paris Hilton. The battle with Hungary is over the term "Tokai" which the European granted Hungary exclusive rights to use to describe sweet wine made in the Tokaj region of Hungary. Italians say that wine makers in Friuli-Venezia Giulia have been using the term tocai for centuries. The terms "Tokai, Tokaj or Tocai" are all protected under the same umbrella. The Italian Tokai, is a very different wine from the Hungarian wine, it is light and slightly tart.

The Paris Hilton scuffle has to do with her promotion of Rich Prosecco, she's actually been promoting the fizzy drink in a can since 2006 but the recent ad campaign showing her wearing only gold paint has focused new attention to the drink and its name. Italians are angered that the drink, which is not being marketed in Italy, is being called prosecco which generally refers to the Italian sparkling wine made of grapes grown in Veneto, Valdobbiadene and Conegliano wine regions. The Rich Prosecco is, at least according to their website, made of these grapes, but putting the drink in a can and mixing it with fruit juice is considered sacrilege. Winemakers are considered that the Paris-powered beverage could give end up tarnishing the entire Prosecco range of Italian sparklers which are often considered another option to Champagne.

Tags: hungary, italy, paris hilton, ParisHilton, prosecco, tokai, tokaj, wine

Filed under: Wine

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William Mar 19th 2008 5:50PM

I submitted corrections to this article about 2 months ago, and it still hasn't been updated...what is Luxist's policy on maintaining proper editorial practices?

deidrewoolllard Mar 19th 2008 5:54PM

Hi William: Thanks for your comment, I don't recall receiving any corrections from you but feel free to leave your corrections in a comment or contact the site using the contact feature located under resources.

Stanley Harris Jan 14th 2008 7:34PM

The Italians can go choke on their pizza. Paris has nothing to do with their stupid problems, and the Italians are lucky to even live on the same earth as Paris. I used to believe all the BS in the tabloids about Paris, but since I met her, I know it is all lies, and any of you who don't think so....too bad for you.