As Croatia geared up to join the EU in July 2013, there was arguably no more high profile figure in the country than Jelsa winemaker Andro Tomic, acknowledged by many as the leading producer of the delicious Dalmatian dessert wine, Prosek. A bout of EU madness meant that the name would soon no longer be allowed, so as to avoid consumer confusion with the Italian Prosecco, an Italian wine which not only bore no resemblance to the famous Dalmtian dessert wine, but prosecco had only been produced in its current popular format since the 1960s, whereas Prosek’s tradition dated back centuries.
As a symbol of the challenges of EU entry and Croatia’s preparedness, the story was perfect, and in Tomic, the media had a charismatic and forthright spokesperson. I started blogging for Andro just before the story broke, and I was truly astonished at the level of interest, as major media outlet after major news outlet arrived in Jelsa to hear the views of the great man, from BBC television news to Associated Press (see their video report below). Tomic was even invited to address the EU Parliament in Brussels on the difference between Prosek and Prosecco (see also the pic above).
The time has come to find a new name for Prosek, and the Tomic winery will continue with its beloved Hektorovich, but is inviting you to come up with the most creative name to replace Prosek. The lucky winner will receive half a dozen bottles of the golden liquid, a prize that should challenge the mind.
Got a suggestion? Leave it on the Tomic Facebook page here.
The full post in Croatian:
Zbog spora s Italijom, EU više ne dozvoljava Hrvatskoj da koristi ime Prošek za svoja desertna vina. A mi u vinariji Tomić jako volimo prošek pa smo se i ove godine potrudili proizvesti nove količine ovog glasovitog slatkog vina Dalmacije. Koristili smo se tradicionalnim metodama i principima, prepoznatljivi dizajn boce i ime Hectorovich nećemo mijenjati ali ostaje nam jedna dilema – kako sada nazvati ovo vino kada ga više ne smijemo zvati prošek? Rado ćemo poslušati Vaše savjete i prijedloge (u komentaru ovog posta), a najmaštoviti odgovor ćemo nagraditi sa 6 boca vrhunskoh desertnog vina!
