The Act formally recognises the collective intellectual property of a wine region by allowing for registration of the region’s name as a GI. It ensures that the name is reserved only for wine from that region and registration will give greater protection from misuse overseas.
Jeffrey Clarke, New Zealand Winegrowers Acting CEO, said: “The Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act is a significant advance for the New Zealand wine industry. Our ‘Geographical Indications’ (GIs) - the names and places where our wines come from - are at the very heart of the New Zealand wine story and this new law provides an additional level of protection for them.”
“We are very pleased to have 18 priority GI applications filed just after midnight on the day the GI Act came into force. The registration of these GIs will provide a solid platform for New Zealand wine producers to promote our wines and regions in international markets and ensure investment in our regional identities are better protected.”
GI application, which may take up to six months, has been filed for: Northland, Auckland, Matakana, Kumeu, Waiheke Island, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Central, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Gladstone, Martinborough, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, North Canterbury, Waipara Valley, Waitaki Valley North Otago and Central Otago.
New Zealand wine exports are valued at NZ$1.66 billion for the year to the end of June 2017. The industry is working towards a goal of NZ$2 billion of exports in 2020.
