RUTHERGLEN winemaker Chris Pfeiffer has unveiled new labels for his wine range, making him the first Australian producer to have adopted the new names for fortified wines.
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Mr Pfeiffer changed his tokay to topaque several weeks ago, selling his first rebranded bottle over the Easter holiday weekend.
He is waiting to see if there are objections to the name apera, before using it to market his sherry range.
“I am in the fortunate position of being involved in the development of these names and we are pretty confident that topaque will be OK,” he said.
“I am not as confident with apera because there are other registered names which are close to it.
“Apero is used quite widely in Europe so I am a little reticent.”
But Mr Pfeiffer said in the interim his winery would continue to sell its sherry under its existing Pale Dry Flor label, that was “quite legal”.
He said the response so far to the change to topaque had been positive.
Tokay producers have been given an eight-year grace period after the European Union included it on the list of geographic-based European names to be dropped.
“We were looking at changing our labels and I couldn’t see any reason why you would want a dual label,” he said.
“The decision has been made, whether we like it or not.”
Mr Pfeiffer is marketing the new label with a brochure explaining the change.
He said loss of the tokay name had provided the opportunity for invigoration.
