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Wine Origins Alliance welcomes Missouri, Yamanashi

18/03/2019

The Wine Origins Alliance today announced the Missouri Wine & Grape Board in the United States and Yamanashi Wineries Association in Japan joined their global efforts to protect wine place names.

The Alliance now includes 25 members representing wine regions in 10 countries spanning North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. It welcomed its newest members at a meeting during the ProWein trade fair, where members discussed ways to continue to push governments to recognize the distinctiveness and value of wine regions to the global economy and the need to legally protect the names of these regions.

“As the home of the oldest American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the United States, Missouri has long known that unique places produce unique wines,” said Jim Anderson, executive director of the Missouri Wine & Grape Board. “We are proud to join alongside our colleagues from around the United States and indeed the world in the important fight to ensure that all wine region names are protected and not abused. We look forward to championing our efforts with our Missouri representatives and those in Washington.

“Yamanashi is the first recognized geographical indication by the Japanese government. Since 1874, we have produced great wines that cannot be reproduced anywhere else in the world,” said Shigekazu Misawa, Vice Chairman of the Yamanashi Wineries Association. “Yamanashi stands with its global partners to send a clear message that when it comes to wine, location matters. We look forward to telling our story beyond the Japanese borders and to governments across the globe.”

Contact:

Natalie Pavlatos

202-777-3539

npavlatos@clsstrategies.com