An international diplomatic row is brewing with Italy over Australia's booming Prosecco industry.

The Italian-style sparkling wine has grown in popularity around the nation — sales within Australia have rocketed up by 53 per cent in the past 12 months.

"It's something that has just got its own momentum, people are loving the flavour," industry veteran Ross Brown, from Brown Brothers, said.

The original home of Prosecco wine, Italy, was not happy. It was facing stiff competition not only from Australia, but from Prosecco producers in a host of other countries around the world.

"Over the last 12 months, Australian Prosecco sales in Australia are now 8 per cent higher than what the Italian Prosecco is … so maybe they are getting a little upset about that," wine marketer Christian Dal Zotto said.

Likened to northern Italy — there are many vineyards nestled in Victoria's King Valley where guests can taste prosecco. ( Landline: Fiona Breen )

The Italian Prosecco industry had noticed Australia's growing success.

It changed the grape variety's name to "glera" in Italy in 2009, and then registered the production area known as the Prosecco region, in North Eastern Italy, with the European Union in order to obtain a geographical indication.

Geographical indication (GI) is used on products that have a specific origin and possess qualities or a reputation due to that origin — such as Champagne in France.

Anyone growing the grape and wanting to sell the wine in Europe now has to call it by a different name.

Italy wants the same naming rule to be enforced in Australia.

The issue is on the agenda in Australia's upcoming free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union.

What's in a name?

Tony Battaglene from the Winemakers Federation of Australia said export restrictions are already in place.

"The Europeans have been trying to pick off countries one by one, they have managed to get Prosecco protected in Japan for example, which means that we can no longer export our Prosecco to Japan — we can export it, but we can't call it Prosecco," Mr Battaglene said.

"There's applications in India, Malaysia, New Zealand and China," he added.

Tony Battaglene led a delegation of Australia's Prosecco winemakers to Canberra to lobby against Italy's move.

"It's always a risk … they could trade us off for concessions on grain or wheat or beef or motorcars, we need to keep talking constantly with our government about this," he said.

Ross Brown's Brown Brothers is Australia's biggest prosecco producer and is growing in line with prosecco growth nationally. ( Supplied: Ewen Bell and Brown Brothers )

Ross Brown, who was part of the industry delegation lobbying Canberra, said an enforced name change for the white sparkling wine known as Prosecco in Australia would damage the market.

"People in Australia buy wine by grape and people know what Prosecco is," Mr Brown said.

The Federal Agriculture Minister's office says it's "working closely with the Australian wine industry on this issue."

Sentimental vine cuttings prove fortuitous

For the Dal Zotto family of the King Valley, it's a conflict it never dreamt would develop.

Otto Dal Zotto (the patriarch of the family) started this vineyard with some cuttings from Venetto, Italy ( Landline: Fiona Breen )

Twenty years ago, patriarch Otto Dal Zotto sourced prosecco vine cuttings from his home region of Venetto in North Eastern Italy to plant at home.

"I was very much homesick, I grew up with Prosecco on the table, we didn't have a bottle of water, we had a Prosecco bottle," Mr Dal Zotto said.

It was a sentimental decision but it was a fortuitous one that shaped the course of the migrant family's future and kickstarted a $60 million industry in Australia.

"There's mixed emotions with some of the Italians, there are some [people] my father knows are 100 per cent OK with what we're doing here, and there's some that are not happy," Christian Dal Zotto said.

But after years of hard work, the Dal Zottos, the Browns, and other Australian Prosecco-producing families are not going to give up the name Prosecco easily.

"We are fighting for Prosecco, but also for the King Valley. This could set a standard for other names being lost, not just in this industry, so this is an important battle for everyone," said Christian Dal Zotto.

Learn more about this story on Landline, Sunday 12:30pm.