On 1 December 2008, Australia signed a wine trade agreement with the European Union to comply with the geographical indicator (GI) system of the EU. This agreement entered into force on 1 September 2010.
The new agreement replaces an agreement signed in 1994 between the two wine powers and protects eleven of the EU drink labels and 112 of the Australian GI”s. Specifically, this means that many of the wine products produced in Australia that were previously labeled according to European names, such as sherry and tokay, will not longer be labeled under these names. Wine producers in Australia will have three years to “phase out” the use of such names on labels. Australian labels that will be discontinued include amontillado, Auslese, burgundy, chablis, champagne, claret, marsala, moselle, port, and sherry.