Consortia launches Prosecco.wine domain

The Prosecco DOC Consortium has launched two new domain names, Prosecco.wine and Prosecco.vin, joining a growing list of companies to launch “not.com” sites.

Prosecco DOC Consortium has launched two new domain names: Prosecco.wine and Prosecco.vin.

Both Prosecco.wine and Prosecco.vin will take users to the consortia’s landing page. The domain names became available in 2012 with their introduction causing controversy among critics, who have claimed it could be used to bypass legal restrictions on terms like “Champagne”.

The Prosecco Consortia said its aim in using the new domain name was to to improve accessibility to its website and make it easier for people to obtain information on Prosecco DOC/DOCG, which it said was “crucial as the consortium continues to defend itself against imposters who market themselves as Prosecco from as far away as Brazil, Romania, Argentina, and Australia.”

Prosecco is only produced in specified areas of Italy’s Veneto and Friuli regions, to the north and northeast of Venice. These areas are protected under DOC and DOCG regulations, with producers required to adhere to the consortia’s rules of using Glera – which is indigenous to this region of northeastern Italy – which can be blended with a percentage of secondary white wine grapes according to consortia rules.

“We are very excited about the recent launch of Prosecco.wine and Prosecco.vin”, said Prosecco DOC Consortium President Stefano Zanette. “Our new domain names reflect our region’s combination of heritage and youth – a historic wine name married to the newest and freshest digital extension. Consumers can find us online easier than ever before.”

Last year Sherry Wines became the first company in the world to operate a .wine domain name, launching its sherry.wine site.