A potential crisis over exports to the United States of Brunello di Montalcino came to an end on Thursday with an announcement that the agriculture ministry's department of inspectors will certify the authenticity of the premier Italian wine.
Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia signed the order here in Brunello's home in the presence of US Ambassador to Italy Ronald Spogli.
''With this act we have not only reinforced our system to guarantee the utmost protection of the consumer, but also restored the image of Brunello, which is a symbol of Italian excellence not only in the United States but the whole world,'' Zaia said.
''The Brunello di Montalcino question was resolved rationally and reasonably and in a short time. I believe this was an excellent example of how trade issues between Italy and the US can be resolved swiftly,'' ambassador Spogli said.
''The quality of Brunello has ever been in question by American consumers for whom it remains one of their most loved wines,'' he added.
Choosing which authority would certify the authenticity of Brunello was the last stage of an accord hammered out between Italy and the US to avoid the risk of an import ban.
The ban was to have gone into effect June 23, but on that date the US Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) posted on its website the new rules which would govern Brunello imports.
Under the new TTB rules, in order to clear customs Brunello shipments must be accompanied by a certificate from each producer which is co-signed by an Italian authority attesting to the fact that it meets all the requirements to obtain the Brunello di Montalcino appellation.
However, at the time Italy had not yet indicated which authority would sign the certificate and the situation was left in a bureaucratic limbo, until Thursday's decree.
The TTB had initially demanded that the wine be subject to laboratory analysis to guarantee that it was made from 100% Sangiovese grapes grown inside of Montalcino in Tuscany.
The American agency threatened to ban Brunello imports because of revelations that some producers were blending their wine with grapes other than Sangiovese.
This meant that the wine did not qualify for the official Brunello DOCG designation and, for the Americans, this represented a case of fraud.
According to American Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, ''the Brunello problem was never about a health risk, it was about truth in labeling''.
Authentication of the wine had originally been the responsibility of the consortium of Brunello producers but this was revoked in early June by the Italian agriculture ministry after the TTB threat.
The new certificate is called a certificate of label approval (COLA) and verifies that the product's vintage date and brand name meet the requirements for Brunello di Montalcino DOCG denomination as well as all standards for sale in Italy.
According to Zaia, Brunello have the right to modify the requirement for obtaining DOCG denomination.
One certificate will be valid for multiple shipments from the same producer with the same vintage and it must be kept on the importer's premises.
Brunello di Montalcino is perhaps Italy's finest wine and certainly among the best in the world.
Its popularity has been rising steadily in the US which, despite a weak dollar, consumed 25% of the Brunello on the market and some 45% of all quality wine produced in Tuscany last year.
