Europe Acts Against American "Champagne"

Illegal immigration may be a hot issue in this year's US elections, but European Union authorities took action recently against an illegal entry into their territory - American "Champagne." Customs authorities in Anvers, Belgium, acted swiftly when they discovered a shipment of more than 3,200 bottles of André sparkling wine that was labeled "California Champagne" from "André Champagne Cellars." That's a no-no in the EU, where the name Champagne is legally protected and can be used only for sparkling wine from the Champagne region in northern France. The wine was destroyed after the European owner relinquished rights to the product rather than face any further legal action. The US agreed two years ago that its sparkling wines should be called "sparkling wines," but the law grandfathered an exception for some older brands, such as André, that are still allowed to use the word Champagne on their labels. Never mind that these are the wines that bear the least resemblance to the French ideal. The wine's destruction was ballyhooed today by the Office of Champagne USA, established to promote the real deal while protecting its trademark name. Perhaps someone at Gallo, the company that owns and produces André, forgot about the Europeans' sensitivity and shipped some wine with the wrong labels. But the incident highlights a major American hypocrisy. We insist on genuine products and protection of intellectual copyrights. Yet we also want to be able to call our sparkling wine "Champagne" when it isn't, the French be damned. I'm on record as touting the quality of America's top sparkling wines. I believe they should be celebrated not as Champagne knock-offs but as excellent bubblies that express the terroir and character of the land where they're grown and the people who make them. It's notable that the top U.S. brands do not use the word Champagne on their label. Good for them! The brands that do continue to usurp the Champagne name, such as André, continue to sell because they are inexpensive and because people like them. I'd wager they don't sell because of the word Champagne on their labels. But the cynical companies continue to abuse the Champagne name because they believe their customers are susceptible idiots and because they don't have enough confidence in their own products to sell them on the merits. Champagne (or a good US sparkling wine) for real friends, real pain for sham friends!

Labels: Champagne, Europe, Sparkling wine