Geographical Denominations Research Articles

Power Balances in the Eastern Mediterranean: From Yesterday to Today

The international relations are usually examined by the concept of power, where geography is one of the major factors determining it. Geographical maps are not merely a paper reflecting the image of the world: looking at the map we should not observe only the geographical denominations, but to consider the position and role of a certain state or actor, projecting its national interests within certain space, time and conditions. Geographical features and characteristics have a direct impact on the economic development, national power, security and role of the state actor on the regional and global arena. Thus, the analysis of Eastern Mediterranean political and strategic importance within the region cannot be evaluated properly without taking a look on the geography of it. In order to have a proper analysis of Eastern Mediterranean there is a need to take into consideration the geopolitical theoretical approaches, its place within the region as such, and its position in accordance to the global and regional power centers. Independent and dependent variables should be taken into consideration: here, geographic position and integrity, borders and land structure will be considered as independent variables, while political, military, security, socio-economic, and cultural features and factors as dependent ones.

Morphological and Genetic Clonal Diversity within the 'Greco Bianco' Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) Variety.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) has been propagated vegetatively for hundreds of years. Therefore, plants tend to accumulate somatic mutations that can result in an intra-varietal diversity capable of generating distinct clones. Although it is common that winemakers request specific clones or selections for planting new vineyards, relatively limited information is available on the extent, degree, and morphological impact of the clonal diversity in traditional, highly valued grapevine varieties within production areas protected by geographical denomination of origin. Here, we present a morphological and genetic investigation of the intra-varietal diversity in 'Greco Bianco', the grapevine variety used to produce the DOCG and PDO "Greco di Tufo" wine. Seventeen clones from different farms (all within the allowed production area) were phenotypically characterized using ampelographic and ampelometric traits. The clones were also genotyped with Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) and retrotransposon-based DNA markers (REMAP). The morphological analysis indicated a uniformity in the qualitatively scored traits, and a limited variability for the quantitative traits of the bunch and of the berry composition. The molecular markers also depicted variability among clones, which was more evident with the use of REMAPs. The comparison of the discriminatory information of the three analyses indicated that they provided different estimates of the level of diversity. The evaluation described herein of the clonal variability has implications for the management and protection of clonal selections in 'Greco Bianco' and prompts for further multidisciplinary investigations on its possible role in winemaking.

Deceptiveness of Trade Marks Referring to No Longer Officially Used Geographical Denominations

Deceptiveness of Trade Marks Referring to No Longer Officially Used Geographical Denominations

The cost of ignorance: reputational mark-up in the market for Tuscan red wines

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical investigation of the idea that imperfectly informed consumers use simple signals to identify the characteristics of wine, for example, the geographical denomination. The reputation of a denomination will thus be an important guide for consumers when assessing individual wines.Design/methodology/approachThe price–quality relationship is studied in a fairly homogenous geographical area where a large number of wine types is present. This is done by using a simple ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis on a database of more than 2,000 different red wines produced in a period of just four years in only one Italian region.FindingsThe results show that some denominations have a lower average quality score and that price differentials between denominations are linked to differences in average quality, although consumers tend to exaggerate the quality gap between prestigious denominations and others.Research limitations/implicationsA producer in a prestigious denomination benefits from a substantial mark-up relative to an equally good producer from another denomination. Furthermore, denomination neutral wines have a stronger price–quality relationship than denomination specific wines.Practical implicationsConsumers should not be misled by what is on the bottle, but should rather consult wine guides to become better informed before purchasing.Social implicationsThe fact that quality and sensory characteristics often play a minor role in determining the price of a commodity is not immediately compatible with the postulate that consumers are well informed.Originality/valueUnlike previous work, this paper investigates a limited area (Tuscany) and only red wines, thus making it possible implicitly to control for many other factors which might otherwise confound the price–quality relationship.

Linguoculturological aspect of studying Turkic toponyms of Crimea

The object of this research is the Turkic toponymic units of the Crimean Region. The subject of this research is the Crimean Tatar toponymic lexicon in the linguocultural aspect. The article examines the Turkic (Crimean Tatar) toponymic system as a fragment of the linguistic worldview of its native speakers. The need is underlined for comprehensive characteristics of geographical denominations of the Crimean Peninsula, with consideration of linguoculturological components as a full-fledged element. The goal consists in description of the Turkic toponymic units of Crimean Region as a phenomenon generated by the culture of Crimean Tatars. It is determined that the semantic of Turkic toponyms is motivated by different associations related to images of the animals and their habitat, plants, historical events and legends that defined names of the objects, etc. There also nomens with unmotivated semantics, permitting variable semantization. As a result of analysis, the examined in linguoculturological aspect toponyms of Crimea of Turkic origin are classified by most significant thematic groups. The Crimean Tatar toponymic lexicon is viewed from linguoculturological perspective for the first time, which defines the scientific novelty of the research. The following conclusions were made: geographical denominations of Crimea are the cultural artifact of Crimean Tatars, reflecting the historical stages of their settlement, ancient migrations and interethnic contacts, economic activity. Political and social transformations, geographical specificities, location, territorial traditions, including those that no longer exist.  The geographical nominations, alongside the instances of creation of toponyms based on external resemblance of geographical object with the realities surrounded Crimean Tatars (color, form), also used cultural and mental associative principles of nomination. This is why the terms included religious, somatic, legend-based, and other components.  

No proprietary protection for individual non-geographical components of protected geographical denominations, says AG Hogan

Abstract Opinion of Advocate General Hogan in Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena v BALEMA GmbH, C-432/18, EU:C:2019:650

La interferencia entre marcas e indicaciones geográficas en el ámbito vitivinícola

The judgment of the General Court of the European Union (Sixth Chamber), Case T 696/15 of 9 February 2017, against EUIPO examines, among the procedural aspects of the European trade mark regime, non-registration of a wine product in the event of non-compliance with the essential, in particular absolute, requirements for the acquisition of a mark in the territory of the European Union. In examining the various provisions at European level which provide for the granting or denial of trademarks and for the purpose of ensuring that geographical indications are fully effective in the European trade mark registration proceedings, this is to prevent holders from incurring any the grounds for annulment, Regulation Nº 207/2009 on the Community trade mark (hereinafter referred to as the CTMR), 7. 1, (j), points out that they are excluded from the register ‘wine marks containing or consisting of a geographical indication identifying wines, or marks of spirit drinks containing or consisting of a geographical indication identifying the spirits, where such wines or drinks do not have such origin’. The inadmissibility of the application for a word mark which contains a geographical indication which does not belong to it and also coincides with other appellations of origin is, inter alia, the central argument of the judicial issue under consideration. The legal question arose in 2014, when a Spanish mercantile company (Bodegas Vega Sicilia) decided to register the word mark “Tempos Vega Sicilia” before the EUIPO which, however, denied the registration of the same because it the term “Sicilia” is part of the protected designations of origin for wines. Hence, the mercantile company decided to appeal in 2015 to the EU General Court, which rejected the appeal by ruling of 9 February 2017, also rejecting, as the EUIPO did at the time, the arguments of the applicant relating to the existence of a family of registered trade marks prior to the registration of the DO or the potential popularity of said family of trademarks and guaranteeing maximum protection of protected geographical denominations and, therefore, denying registration when, when included in a trademark, it was not limited to the product of the said geographical area.

Discrimination of Olive Oil by Cultivar, Geographical Origin and Quality Using Potentiometric Electronic Tongue Fingerprints

AbstractLegal regulations are set for protecting claims regarding olive oil geographical denomination. When meteorological or agroecological factors similarly affect different regions, the origin identification is a challenging task. This study demonstrated the use of a potentiometric electronic tongue coupled with linear discriminant analysis to discriminate the geographical origin of monovarietal Tunisian olive oil produced from local cv Chemlali (Kairouan, Sidi Bouzid or Sfax regions) and cv Sahli (Kairouan, Mahdia or Sousse regions). The potentiometric fingerprints of 12 or eight lipid sensors (for Chemlali and Sahli, respectively), selected using a simulated annealing meta‐heuristic algorithm, allowed the correct prediction (repeated K‐fold cross‐validation) of the geographic production region with sensitivities of 92 ± 7% (Chemlali) and 97 ± 8% (Sahli). It was also confirmed the electronic tongue capability to classify Tunisian olive oil according to olive cultivar or quality grade. The results indicated the possible use of potentiometric fingerprints as a promising innovative strategy for olive oil analysis allowing assessing geographical origin, olive cultivar and quality grade, which are key factors determining olive oil price and consumers’ preference.

What Does near Infrared Have to Offer in Confirming Wine Authenticity and Origin?

Introduction T he determination of food authenticity and adulteration are major issues in the food and wine industries. In particular, the verification of authenticity, origin and traceability of wine and other alcoholic beverages by means of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has become a field of increased interest in recent years. More and more, consumers are demanding wines produced by traditional methods as well as targeting regional and handmade (e.g. craft) methods of production over commercial practices for many reasons. Almost 60% of the wine produced worldwide is consumed in Europe. Although the EU is the world’s leading wine importer, it also has three of the larger wine producing countries in the world (France, Italy and Spain). However, the number of countries outside Europe producing and exporting wine is increasing, as is the relevance of this sector within the food industry as a whole. The Australian wine industry is one of the largest exporters (fifth in terms of volume) in the world, with the South Australian wine industry producing annually more than 50% of the Australian wine output. Geographical regions of South Australia such as the Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale are well known internationally for their wines (e.g. Shiraz). Although these regions might be considered as geographically similar, differences in soil and climate characteristics between them confer well-defined, characteristic quality properties to the wine produced. The modern wine industry continues to have a requirement for rapid, inexpensive and effective techniques to measure chemical properties in wine as well as to assure consumers of the geographic provenance of the bottled wine. Nowadays, wine marketing strategies focus on associating the product image and the perception of quality with a specific region and/or grape variety or varietal blend. More than any other product of the land, the flavours and aromas of wine are linked to the soil and soil differences are often emphasised by wine makers as part of their marketing strategies which focus the importance of terroir. Although the quality of a wine depends primarily on the type of grape involved in its production, the interactions between climate and soil together with the different techniques used during production (e.g. fermentation, maturation) also play an important role in defining the overall quality of the wine. Wines produced in specified regions are clearly identified and controlled by different governing bodies at both the national and regional level. For example, in the EU, a wine produced in a specific region with well-defined cultivation and elaboration practices, verifiable by the competent bodies, is awarded the Denomination of Origin (DO). This denomination guarantees the provenance indicated on the label as well as indicating a superior quality to the consumer. Additionally, geographical denominations bring many advantages to producers and consumers, such as protecting these products from possible frauds, guaranteeing high product quality standards and defining strict production protocols, regulations and policies for production. Geographical denominations are also useful to preserve the local agricultural environment because the quality and composition of a given product is strictly linked with the production environment and traditions. Worldwide, several laboratories evaluate different techniques in order to assure producers and consumers about the denomination of origin or the authenticity of a wine using labour-intensive and costly analyses which look for specific chemical features that can be related to a particular geographical origin. Several parameters can be used in order to determine the geographic origin of wine and these are defined as indicators of wine origin. Examples of wine geographical origin indicators are the mineral content, micro and trace elements, isotopes, amino acids, phenolic and volatile compounds. However, this type of analysis is based on instrumental techniques that, being selective and reliable, require experienced operators and are difficult to automate and implement in routine and on-site applications. Nowadays, wine producers and exporters, regulators and consumers are all demanding better analytical tools for cost-effective and routine quality control.

A hedonic analysis of retail Italian vinegars

Vinegar׳s contribution to the Italian wine industry is significant, and Italy is the world׳s largest exporter of wine vinegar. Nevertheless, the features of the vinegar market have received little scholarly attention, and hedonic price analysis has not yet been applied to vinegar. Thus, through a sample survey of supermarkets, this study makes an initial attempt to investigate the most important features influencing the price of vinegar.The study reports results of a hedonic price analysis conducted on a vinegar survey that collected information about intrinsic and extrinsic cues, brand, point of sale and merchandising.Although they influence the vinegar price, bottle size and packaging features appear to mask the effects of other attributes. Modena Balsamic vinegar is a geographical denomination and commands a premium price compared with other vinegars, and vinegar prices decrease as the acidity of the content increases. Brands, bottle features and shelf display significantly affect vinegar price.Knowledge about factors affecting the vinegar price can help producers make decisions about what vinegars should be produced and how to price them, which will benefit a consistent proportion of wine and grape producers.

Wine fingerprinting using a bio-geochemical approach

The wine sector is a billion euro business and therefore subjected to multiple attempts of fraudulent practices. This requires the development of rapid and reliable methods to detect such situations. Several methodologies have been developed based on the chemical profiles of the wines, but they are limited due to the environmental conditions that cannot be controlled. The use of DNA-based detection systems are an emergent research field that have been extended to a wide variety of food prod- ucts and are still the most reliable methods for varietal identification. However these methods are not suitable for geographical determination. Soil related fingerprints have a primary role considering that there is a relationship between the elemental compo- sition of wine and the composition of the provenance soil. WineBioCode is a project aiming to define the best strategy for wine authenticity based on a multidisciplinary approach. Two DNA-based strategies have been developed based on Real-time PCR and a label free optical biosensor platform. Both platforms enabled successful identification of specific DNA-targets when applied to Vitis vinifera L., and can be applied throughout the grape-wine chain. The methods are complementary and can be used in dif- ferent situations, according to the requirements. The geographical evaluation has been assessed by the strontium 87 Sr/86 Sr isotope ratio determination involving soil evaluation in the vineyards followed by its assay in the wine samples. The results are being integrated in order to establish the best procedure to be undertaken for wine fingerprinting, including varietal composition and geographical origin, therefore fulfilling the requirements of the geographical denominations in wine certification.

The situation of the Hungarian apricot farming and its developmental tendencies

The EC has declared „gönci magyar kajszi” as a product of specific origin with geographicald enomination. The „pálinka”isregistered Hungarian productin the EU. The micro-region of apricot production, named Gönc, has the privilege to utilize the great potential for rural development by its apricot production. To determine the development potential connected to apricot, needs through investigations on apricot production.This paper investigate apricot production at global, European and national levels. At national level each key aspects of apricot production have been analized. The final conclusions referring to Gönc micro-regionare: Northern Hungary region has got the biggest apricot area(within that Gönc has got outstanding role). The share of apricot cultivars of gönci origin ”has got overwhelming role in the Hungarian Cultivar assortment, the living tradition of production in this micro-region makes it possible, that gönci apricot will contribute to the overall socio-economic development in the region to a remarkable extend.

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL TRAITS OF ALMOND KERNELS OF THE LOCAL ALMOND POPULATIONS IN MOROCCO: COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL END-USES

The physical and chemical traits of five local populations of almond seedlings from Morocco were studied in order to evaluate the possibilities of their commercial and industrial valorization. Nut weight ranged between 2.8 and 4.3 g, and kernel weight between 0.93 and 1.3 g, but with most accessions being characterized by broad kernel, pronounced wrinkles and double kernels. For the chemical traits, the ranges of variation for oil content (52.6-58.7%), oleic acid (66.7-73.8%), linoleic acid (16.8-22.7%), palmitic acid (6.2-7.1%) and stearic acid (1.92-2.12%), agreed with previous results in almond, but the protein content (21.4-27.7%) showed that some populations had higher values than previously recorded in almond. For tocopherol concentration, the range of variation for α-tocopherol (318.3-530.8 mg kg-1oil) and γ-tocopherol (14.5-31.7 mg kg-1oil) are slightly higher than those reported in the literature. The genotypes from mountain regions showed kernels with very high oil content and slightly low α-tocopherol concentration, establishing a possible differentiation according to their geographical origin. These differences may allow establishing a geographical denomination for almond products. Although the physical quality of the kernels of these populations was generally low, the chemical composition offers the possibility of some specialized uses which could improve their marketable value.

Protein Content and Oil Composition of Almond from Moroccan Seedlings: Genetic Diversity, Oil Quality and Geographical Origin

AbstractThe protein and oil content and the fatty acid profile of the kernels of selected almond genotypes from four different Moroccan regions were determined in order to evaluate the kernel quality of the plant material of these different regions. The ranges of oil content (48.7–64.5 % of kernel DW), oleic (61.8–80.2 % of total oil), linoleic (11.4–27.0 %), palmitic (5.6–7.7 %), stearic (1.3–3.1 %), and palmitoleic (0.4–0.9 %) acid percentages agreed with previous results of other almond genotypes, but the protein content (14.1–35.1 % of kernel DW) showed that some genotypes had higher values than any previously recorded in almond. Some genotypes from mountainous regions showed kernels with very high oil content as well as high and consistent oleic and linoleic ratio, establishing a possible differentiation according to the geographical origin. These differences may allow establishing a geographical denomination for almond products. In terms of genetic diversity, oleic and linoleic acids were confirmed to be the most variable components of almond oil chemical composition among genotypes. Additionally, the genotypes with extreme favorable values, such as high protein content, could be incorporated into an almond breeding program aiming at an increase in kernel quality.

Recognition of Geographical Origin as an Instrument for Structural Change in the Spanish Wine Industry : Two Sides of the Geographical Denominations in Wine Producing Activities

Recognition of Geographical Origin as an Instrument for Structural Change in the Spanish Wine Industry : Two Sides of the Geographical Denominations in Wine Producing Activities

スペインワイン生産者の製品戦略における地理的呼称制度の意味 その１．パナデス地方の原産地呼称にみる領域設定の論理

スペインワイン生産者の製品戦略における地理的呼称制度の意味 その１．パナデス地方の原産地呼称にみる領域設定の論理

Combining information from headspace mass spectrometry and visible spectroscopy in the classification of the Ligurian olive oils

An electronic nose and an UV-Vis spectrophotometer, in combination with multivariate analysis, have been used to verify the geographical origin of extra virgin olive oils. Forty-six oil samples from three different areas of Liguria were included in this analysis. Initially, the data obtained from the two instruments were analysed separately. Then, the potential of the synergy between these two technologies for testing food authenticity and quality was investigated. Application of Linear Discriminant Analysis, after feature selection, was sufficient to differentiate the three geographical denominations of Liguria (“Riviera dei Fiori”, “Riviera del Ponente Savonese” and “Riviera di Levante”), obtaining 100% success in classification and close to 100% in prediction. The models built using SIMCA as a class-modelling tool, were not so effective, but confirmed that the results improve using the synergy between different analytical techniques. This paper shows that objective instrumental data related to two important organoleptic features such as oil colour and aroma, supply complementary information.

III. On the Laurenation Formation: its Mineral, Constitution, its Geographical Distribution, and its Residuary Elements of Life

It is indended in this paper to present a general outline of the Laurentian Formation under the heads mentioned in the above title; dwelling principally on the latter clause, its residuary elements of life, or, in other words, on those mineral substances, contained within it, which at some earlier period have been the constituents of organic bodies. This formation, or system of rocks, which have been called ‘fundamental,’ has of late years very generally received the name of ‘Laurentian,’ a geographical denomination, taken from the country (Laurentide or Laurentian Mountains) in which it has been well studied, and where it exists in vast force. An assemblage of metamorhosed rocks may usually br considered ‘Laurentain,’ when over great spaces (with or without the intervention of the Huronian and Cambrian rocks) it underlies discordantly beds more or less fossiliferous, named ‘Primordial’ in Bohemia, ‘Lingula-flags’ in Wales, ‘Potsdam Sandstone’ in North America.