Marks & Spencer loses 14,000 bottles in Italian raid on 'fake' prosecco

In these difficult times, prosecco has become a popular alternative to champagne for those wanting to put some fizz into their lives on a budget.

However, the Italians are getting tough on producers and retailers who are cashing in by effectively imitating their famous wine.

Some 14,000 bottles of a brand called Rosecco that were due to end up on the shelves of Marks & Spencer have been seized by the Italian authorities, who say the name could mislead customers.

M&S is the first High Street chain to be hit by new prosecco regulations.
Just as the French can control which products call themselves champagne and the English have protected the name stilton, now the Italians are doing the same with prosecco.

The M&S wine was seized by the Italian government amid claims that it breaks EU legislation brought in last August stipulating that the name prosecco and anything that sounds similar can be used to describe only a wine from designated areas, specifically the Veneto region, using the grape of the same name.

Giancarlo Vettorello, director of the Italian prosecco producers consortium, said he hoped the seizure of the M&S Rosecco would be 'the beginning of the full eradication of imitation prosecco products from the UK market'.

Prosecco and its pink equivalent have become increasingly popular because they are generally high quality yet cheaper than champagne from France and even cava from Spain.