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CHINA

China allows only ‘Made in France’ champagne

French champagne-producers will be uncorking an extra bottle of bubbly after China agreed to limit the use of the "champagne" label in its rapidly-expanding market to only sparkling wines made in the French region it gets its name from.

Published: 28 May 2013 09:40 CEST
China allows only 'Made in France' champagne
Time for French champagne-producers to celebrate? Chinese authorities have agreed to only give French-made bubbly the 'champagne' label. File photo: George Groutas

China has agreed to limit the "champagne" label to only wines produced in the French region bearing that name, with a trade group welcoming the move as a boost for the beverage in a fast-growing market.

Sales of the wine are accelerating in the world's second largest economy, from 50,000 bottles in 2001 to one million in 2010 to two million last year, making it the fifth-largest market outside the European Union.

But in a country famed for mass-producing fake goods, the "champagne" label has been applied widely, not only to Chinese-made sparkling wines but also goods ranging from candles to dog toys, said the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC).

The new restriction will enable the organisation to seek action against mislabelled products more effectively, it added.

China had "achieved an optimal level of protection", CIVC spokesman Thibaut Le Mailloux said Monday, welcoming the development.

The country was "one of the biggest future markets for champagne", he added.

China's national quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said champagne had been given "geographic mark protection" within the country.

The announcement on one of its websites specified the grape varieties to be used, locations in France where they had to be grown, where the wine should be made and the method of protection, among other factors.

China has only recognised three other labels in the wine and spirits sector, including cognac, Scotch whisky and the American vineyard region of Napa Valley, said AQSIQ's director-general Pei Xiaoying.

Sparkling wine was first introduced to China during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-1796) and the Empress Dowager Cixi once broke a vase while uncorking a bottle, according to CIVC director-general Jean-Luc Barbier.

The trade body is still lobbying the United States and Russia to recognize the champagne label and block local sparkling wine producers from using the name.

"Chinese law gives us protection that Russia and the US do not," Le Mailloux told AFP, describing their approach as "anachronistic and without future".

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CHAMPAGNE

French Champagne makers threaten boycott of Russia over ‘sparkling wine’ label

Russian elites could soon find themselves without their favourite French bubbles if Moet Hennessy makes good on a threat to halt champagne supplies following a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin.

Published: 5 July 2021 09:44 CEST
French Champagne makers threaten boycott of Russia over 'sparkling wine' label
Russian lawmakers adopted legislation saying the word "champagne" can only be applied to wine produced in Russia. Photo: Alexander NEMENOV / AFP.

Moet Hennessy’s Russia office warned local partners it was suspending supplies after Russian lawmakers adopted legislation stipulating that the word “champagne” can only be applied to wine produced in Russia, while the world-famous tipple from France’s Champagne region should be called “sparkling wine”.

Leonid Rafailov, general director of AST, a top liquor distributor which works with a number of brands including Moet Hennessy, said on Saturday his firm had received a letter from the French company notifying it of the suspension.

“I confirm that such a letter exists, and it is justified,” Rafailov told AFP.

He said that in accordance with the legislation – signed off on by Putin on Friday – the company would have to undergo new registration procedures, among other requirements.

Sebastien Vilmot, Moet Hennessy managing director in Russia, declined to speak to AFP.

But in a statement released through Rafailov, Vilmot called the suspension a “temporary” measure before a solution could be found.

Moet Hennessy is part of French luxury goods group LVMH and known for such brands as Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon.

The French are fiercely protective of the term “champagne”, and it can only be made in the French region of the same name.

A copy of Moet Hennessy’s letter was first published on social media on Friday by a representative of a Moscow-based liquor importer and distributor.

Drinks market expert Vadim Drobiz suggested the legislation was open to interpretation but added that Moet Hennessy’s share of the Russian market was relatively small and well-heeled clients could find a replacement.

“If there is no Moet, there won’t be a state coup and Russian elites will not commit suicide,” Drobiz quipped.

But wine consultant Anna Chernyshova questioned the purpose of the amendments. “My phone has been ringing off the hook,” she said. “Me and my clients are thinking what to do next.”

Chernyshova, who helps people build wine collections, said she was not sure why the Russian parliament had passed such a law. “How will they walk back on it?” she told AFP. “So many officials love this champagne.”

Social media was abuzz with jokes, with wits making fun of the latest piece of Russian legislation. “Now it’s necessary to ban Scots and Americans from using the word “whisky”, joked restaurateur Sergei Mironov.

Popular singer Vasya Oblomov said Russian lawmakers could now adopt similar legislation regulating the use of the name “Mercedes” and even place names.

“I thought it was a joke,” wrote Putin’s self-exiled critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. “I was wrong.”

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