In an effort to maintain the legitimacy of its renowned, geographically protected balsamic vinegar, the Italian government has instituted infringement actions against Slovenia.
Last year, Slovenia's ambitions to "standardise" its vinegar manufacturing and effectively offer any wine vinegar combined with concentrated fruit juice or must as "balsamic vinegar" caused a deterioration in relations between the two nations.
Since 2009, only manufacturers in Modena and the Emilia-Romagna area are permitted to use the title aceto balsamico di Modena (balsamic vinegar of Modena).
Italy views Slovenia's action as a threat to its reputation for producing exceptional Modena balsamic vinegar and to a market worth approximately €1 billion.
The government of Mario Draghi, the country's prime minister, has made the conflict over balsamic vinegar a top priority and authorised the state attorney to begin legal action. Before bringing the matter before the European Union's court of justice, if necessary, the commission must first be consulted (CJEU).
The president of the coalition for the conservation of Modena balsamic vinegar, Mariangela Grosoli, said, "After months of waiting and fretting, we finally see a glimpse of brightness."
EU court decision leaves makers of balsamic vinegar in Italy with a bad taste
Last year, an Italian minister declared that the government would take all necessary precautions to protect the nation's agricultural products from "illicit attacks" and that protecting Italian wine and food was a top priority.
But it's still unclear how effective the action against Slovenia will be. Italian producers of balsamic vinegar lost a legal battle in 2019 to stop a German company from marketing its vinegar products under the names aceto or aceto balsamico. The German company had been using the words balsamico and Deutscher balsamico to identify their products (German balsamico).
The protected word for aceto balsamico di Modena, however, "does not extend to the use of non-geographic individual terms," the CJEU decided. The court found that the term "aceto" is generic and that the adjective "balsamico" is frequently used to describe vinegar with a bittersweet flavour.
As a result, aceto balsamico alone was not subject to the same restrictions as the trademark aceto balsamico di Modena, which may only be used by producers within a specified geographic area.