Glasses and a bottle of Champagne at the Champagne house of Champagne Jean Velut in Montgueux, France.Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
In an office basement in Épernay, France, sit a collection of products and advertisements emblazoned with the Champagne name – everything from toilet paper, bubble bath and shoes to beverages that are not sparkling wines produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region.
All these unrelated products found by the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne have used Champagne as a shorthand for luxury or high quality, but are not truly representative of the world-famous sparkling wine appellation which the organization is dedicated to promoting and protecting. The organization has a four-person legal team, and collaborates with 70 lawyers worldwide to safeguard the Champagne name from misuse that could dilute its identity or damage its reputation.
“It’s not a generic term,” explains Marie-Anne Humbert Genand, head of the Comité Champagne’s legal department, as she leads visitors past shelves displaying products that have appropriated Champagne in their name, packaging or marketing.
Items gathered by the Comité Champagne that misuse the term Champagne.Comite Champagne/Supplied
Winemakers in the region have been taking legal action against the appropriation of Champagne since the 1840s, when merchants including Barbe‑Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, of Veuve Clicquot, sued producers in other parts of France for labelling their wines from outside of the region as Champagne.
Those early successful court cases helped to establish the region’s formal Protected Designation of Origin status in 1936 by authority of the French Ministry of Agriculture. Since 2009, those regulations are recognized and supported across the European Union.
The Comité Champagne’s staff monitors online activity, including domain-name registrations and activity on e-commerce platforms, to identify unauthorized use. When infringements are detected, they send a cease-and-desist letter before pursuing available legal remedies, including litigation.
“We act quickly,” she says. “It’s important to be aggressive.”
Established in 1941, Comité Champagne represents the region’s grape growers and wine producers. Protecting the appellation name has always been part of its mandate, Genand says.
Miller High Life, which has used the slogan ‘the Champagne of Beers’ since 1903, can continue to use the term because usage predates a 2006 wine-trade agreement between the U.S. and EU.Comite Champagne/Supplied
Many products have been withdrawn from sale after successful complaints by the Champagne industry’s watchdog over the unauthorized use of the name. These include Yves Saint Laurent’s Champagne perfume, launched in 1993, and Unilever’s Andrélon Champagne hair-care product, released in 2010.
Other products, such as Miller High Life, which has used the slogan “the Champagne of Beers” since 1903, can continue to use the term because usage predates a 2006 wine-trade agreement between the United States and European Union. Similarly, established brands, like Korbel California Champagne and Cook’s California Champagne are permitted to retain the designation. However, the agreement prohibits American wineries from using “Champagne” on the labels of new domestic releases.
Following the approval of a Canada-European Union wine trade agreement in 2003, Canadian wineries agreed to phase out Protected Regional Designations originating in Europe, such as Champagne, Chablis and Port. Producers were given 10 years to rename affected brands, such as Brights President Canadian Champagne, and introduce new labels.