Ferragamo sues NFL star over winery name

Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo is suing former NFL star Vince Ferragamo over the use of the Ferragamo name for his wine brand.

Former LA Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo is being sued by Italian fashion house Ferragamo

As reported by the New York Post, the fashion brand has demanded that Ferragamo stops selling his wine under his own name due to trademark infringement.

The federal lawsuit filed in Manhattan this week accuses the former LA Rams quarterback of “unlawfully” using the Ferragamo trademark and “tarring” its name by selling “inferior” wine under the Tenuta di Ferragamo brand.

Vince bottles wine under the Tenuta di Ferragamo brand

The fashion house accused Ferragamo of “cybersquatting” on his website and insisted he “deliver for destruction” any products bearing the Ferragamo name.

The lawsuit states that Vince Ferragamo’s misuse of the Ferragamo name has “injured the plaintiff’s reputation and goodwill”.

The Ferragamo family produces wine in Tuscany under the Il Borro brand. They claim to own trademark to the Ferragamo name with regards to wine based on a 2006 trademark application.

Among the wines it producers are a Tuscan IGT made from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot; a sparkling Sangiovese rosé; an IGT Syrah; a Chardonnay and a Vin Santo.

Vince Ferragamo meanwhile, founded his own name winery in Orange Park Acres, California in 2010, which he runs with his wife Jodi and sommelier daughter Cara.

He told the Orange-County Register in 2012 that most of the wine he makes is destined for private consumption and as gifts for friends.

Vince focuses on Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon at the estate where warm days and cool nights are said to “mirror the conditions of Tuscany’s rolling hills”. Despite not being made in Italy, Ferragamo labels his wines “Super Tuscan”.