French winemakers fizzing mad after Russia claims
the name Champagne
Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law banning foreign
sparkling wine producers from using the term.
BY SARAH
ANNE AARUP
July 5,
2021 9:20 pm
As
geopolitical food fights go, Vladimir Putin’s assault on French Champagne might
well be described as Extra Brut.
The Russian
president signed a law on Friday that will ban foreign sparkling wine producers
from using the term "Champagne" — even those produced in France's
famed, wine-growing region from which the name originates. Only Russian-made
shampanskoe wines will be able to use the term.
The move
was viewed as a major affront in France, which has strict rules to protect the
name and reputation of its beloved bubbly, and on Monday the country's main
Champagne industry group called for all producers to halt exports to Russia
"until further notice."
“The people
of Champagne are calling on French and European diplomacy to try to have this
unacceptable law modified," reads the statement from the Champagne
Committee's co-presidents, Maxime Toubart and Jean-Marie Barillère.
“Preventing
the people of Champagne from using the name Champagne (in Cyrillic) is
scandalous; it’s our common heritage and the apple of our eye.”
LVMH’s Moët
Hennessy, which includes brands like Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon, told
POLITICO the company will temporarily suspend its shipments to Russia "to
give us the time to evaluate the consequences of this new regulation.”
French
media have suggested the move by Moscow could be part of its efforts to revive
the shampanskoe sparkling wine industry in its Soviet-era ancestral home of
Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, in line with similar
measures that worked to domestic producers' advantage: Moscow banned the import
of European cheeses and other products in response to Western sanctions imposed
over the Ukraine conflict, which ultimately offered a major boost to Russia's
own cheese producers.
On Monday,
Russian sparkling wine producer Abrau-Durso’s stock value rose by 7.7 percent.
Moscow’s
move to hit one of Europe’s most prized sectors also comes at a tense time for
EU-Russian relations, just after the European Council rejected a proposal by
France and Germany for a summit with Putin and instead imposed strict
conditions for any warming of diplomatic ties.
Putin’s
press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the sparkling wine
industry is "a difficult branch of the economy, this is not a place where
fast money lives," hinting at Russia’s desire to protect its domestic wine
producers. “The law has been passed, it must be implemented."
Barillère
said he was “very surprised that Russia could take this type of decision,” and
the committee called on French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to get
involved.
The French
embassy in Moscow declined to comment, but the country's junior minister for
trade, Franck Riester, tweeted that Paris is "closely monitoring" the
implications of the Russian law.
"Be
there no doubt: We will support without fail our producers and French
excellence. Long live French champagne!” Riester wrote.
French
Champagne is also covered by the EU's lucrative system of geographical
indications that seek to protect the names of gourmet foods traded abroad.
Alexander Stavstev, editor-in-chief of Russian industry news outlet Wine Retail
Information Center, estimated the law could involve changing the labels of some
20,000 wine brands.
A European
Commission spokesperson told reporters Monday the EU executive “will be doing
everything necessary to express our disagreement and concern" over the
Russian legislation.
“We will do everything necessary to protect our rights and take the necessary steps,” the spokesperson added, stopping short of naming concrete
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