Only Sparkling Wine from Champagne is Champagne

France is in the news again! This time around, its border police destroyed nearly 35,000 bottles of a soda drink that called itself a "champagne"!

 

Customs officials in the northern port of Le Havre said the bottles labeled "Couronne Fruit Champagne" which were seized in October 2021, originated from Haiti. 

 

The Champagne industry has determined that the only products that should use the term "champagne" are bottles of sparkling wine that are made using the traditional method in Champagne, France. 

 

The name is designated under France's Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, which is meant to give them exclusive use of the word in countries that follow EU laws. There are currently more than 121 countries that follow the ruling on the use of the name, according to the Champagne trade association.

 

If you must know, the 27-nation bloc has a system of protected geographical designations created to guarantee the true origin and quality of artisanal food, wine and spirits, and protect them from imitation. FYI, Greek Feta, Italian Parmesan and British Stilton blue cheese are similarly protected by such rules. 

 

French customs said the bottles of the orange drink were intended for sale on the French market. In October 2022, a Parisian court ruled the bottles should be destroyed as they infringed the AOC regulation. 

 

Charles Goemaere, director-general of the Champagne Committee said their destruction enforced the importance of the regulation. 

 

"This kind of use contributes to weakening the reputation of the appellation", he said. "The fight against the abuse of the Champagne name started in 1844 and hasn't stopped since". 

 

Needless to say, this is not the first time beverages have met their fate for using the Champagne name. 

 

On April 17, 2023, a shipment of 2,352 cans of Miller High Life beer were deleted in neighboring Belgium at the request of the French champagne committee on the grounds that the century-old slogan "The Champagne of Beers" used by the American brewery and printed on the cans infringed the protected designation of origin "Champagne".

 

The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February and was destined for Germany. Molson Coors Beverage Co., which own the Miller High Life brand, do not currently export it to the EU, and Belgian customs declined to say who had ordered the beers.

 

In any case, the guardians of Champagne are not letting anyone take the name of their bubbly beverage in vain!