Wine "Police" Is Appointed In Italy

For the first time, Italy has appointed a "prosecco policeman," The Telegraph reports. The job of this new position is to go to bars and restaurants and check that the light and fizzy beverage is being served properly. The man for the job is Andrea Battistella, 27, who has a degree in viniculture and oenology.

His official title is "special monitoring agent," and he will be based in the town Treviso, which is north of Venice. He is the first man for the job, but the region plans to hire more "police" in the upcoming months.

His first task is to check that the wine being sold is genuine, rather than an imitation, and that it is poured directly from the bottle rather than pumped out of taps or served in carafes. It must have the official DOC appellation (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata), which proves its legitimacy. Bars and restaurants that are found guilty of ripping off their customers could be fined anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 euros.

The goal of the new position is to protect the customers. Like parmesan cheese and prosciutto ham, prosecco is a product known to Italy and loved around the world, and therefore the government wants to protect its reputation.