Brunello imported into the US will no longer have to come with a lab analysis proving it is 100% Sangiovese, the government has said.
Though the US embargo on Brunello di Montalcino is still scheduled to take effect starting 23 June, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has dropped its requirement that all imports must be scientifically certified.
In a circular letter posted on the ATTB website, the agency is now demanding that all importers of Brunello submit ‘a statement from the Italian Government attesting that Brunello di Montalcino meets the requirements of the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and is acceptable for sale as such in Italy’, to the US Customs and Border agency.
Brunello importers that do not submit the letter will be in ‘willful violation’ and would risk having their importing permit suspended or revoked, while Brunello not accompanied by the governmental letter would not be released.
The Brunello Consorzio was unaware of the latest turn of events a day after the ATTB posting.
‘I know this was one of the proposals raised by the Minister of Agriculture. But as of today, I have received no confirmation that Brunello producers no longer need laboratory analysis, or about the accompanying statement from the Italian government for US importers,’ Patrizio Cencioni, the newly elected president of the Consorzio, told decanter.com.
Written by Kerin O’Keefe in Varese
