The Land of the Pisco Sour

Here's an intersting & fun piece on Chile and Peru's squabble over which lays claim to the true Pisco, a very tasty liquor made from grapes and, imho, not nearly popular enough in the United States. (For what it's worth, the person who introduced it to me was Chilean.)

These regional product battles have been causing a bureaucratic mess at the EU--in particular, over Parma ham. An EU court has now sided with local producers, deciding that the famed prosciutto must not only be raised and slaughtered but also sliced and packaged in Parma to be graced with the name.

According to the LA Times piece on pisco, "In September, WTO ministers will meet in Cancun, Mexico, to consider a European proposal to enforce WTO-recognized 'denominations of origin' in all 146 member countries."