Champagne Or “Shampanskoe”? France And Russia In Spirited Fight Over Name
WASHINGTON: French trade minister Franck Riester on Wednesday said he was “quite optimistic” that the resolution could be found in disputes with Russia than the bottle champagne label.
Original champagne house, France with jealousy keep their rights to use the term and has been in talks with Moscow about the law signed by President Vladimir Putin in July that French champagne producers use words on their bottles in Russia.
At the end of October, Paris obtained a two-month delay in implementing rules, which specifically prohibited the use of Russian champagne translations – “Shampanskoe” – on imported bottles.
“We continue to discuss with Russian authorities at the European level and the French level because we think we can convince them that they have an interest in becoming a part of the struggle to protect geographical indications,” Riester told reporters during a visit to Washington.
He noted that Russian investors were attracted to champagne, and they could become “a good envoy for Russian government.”
“Overall, I think Russia can share with us the importance of geographical indications. And so I am quite optimistic for the future,” said Riester, called drinks “symbols for France.”
French manufacturers can still use words in French but only Russian sparkling wine producers can use terms in Cyrillic – steps that cause anger in the French Champagne area.
Along with the United States and Haiti, Russia is one of the few countries that never recognizes the word “champagne” as an exclusive term for sparkling wine made in the French Champagne area.
Russia is the 15th largest export market for French champagne, with 1.8 million bottles sold in this country in 2019.
The body of the French champagne industry recommended its members stop exporting to Russia in July, but reversing guidance in September as diplomatic talks between Paris and Moscow occurred.
During his visit to the US capital, Riester also reiterated the position of the European Union that China was “systemic rivals” but said it was important to work with Beijing on problems that affect the whole world.
“How can we answer climate change questions if we don’t enter China in a strategy?” he says.
