Wine (product) names in the Pannonian region

Abstract

Names of goods or products are “used names” par excellence. This article is dedicated to wine commodity names in the Pannonian region, in eastern Austria (in Burgenland and Styria) as well as in western Hungary. In oenology, various types of names are significant. This includes geographical names (place names) – e. g. proper names of wine-growing areas and vineyards – as well as company names of wine-growing enterprises , which may become very well known. In our study we look at names of individual wines: e. g. Optimiszt, Góré. Wine (commodity) names are proper names that are invented anew from time to time, usually in each vintage year, adapted to the current characteristics of the product. Some of them are used productively, year on year, and thus become a “brand name”. In the two neighbouring regions in the Pannonian area, the wine names reflect the meeting of two neighbouring languages and naming conventions. Hungarian names and words appear on Austrian wine labels and vice versa: Esterházy (AT), Puttkammer, Eszterbauer (HU), Puszta libre, Piroska (AT), Schmutzig, Fuxli (HU). The playful variation of primary proper names (family and first names, in some instances place names) is striking, while dialects, the relevant technical vocabulary as well as language games also often contribute to the invention of a name. In the case of wine names, the interplay of language and image (graphic or photo on the label) is particularly effective.