France upset at Russia

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
France in a fizz over Russia's champagne label law

France has hit back at a new Russian law ordering French champagne makers to label their bottles as sparkling wine.

Under Russia's new law, only local producers can call their drinks "shampanskoye" - the Russian equivalent of champagne.

France's main champagne industry group called the law "unacceptable".

Under the new legislation - signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday - foreign producers of sparkling wine are ordered to describe their products as such on the back of the bottle.
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France Upset at Russia

. . . . . . . Pete
 
Will the text from whence I came require a revisionist edition, or will Gogol's original be grandfathered like Gallo's Andre "Champagne" was in 2006? There is such a lovely episode involving Clicquot in chapter 3.
 
This is retribution for the Battle of Borodino. The Russians move slowly but they never forget.

My guess is all references to old Imperialist fizz-water will be excised by the next People's Congress.
 
Although the Battle of Borodino is officially described as a French victory (though a Pyrrhic one) by historians, Tolstoy marks it as the beginning of the end for Napoleon's army. I'm not sure that the Russians need to avenge themselves for that. Now Austerlitz is another matter. Of course, Austria also had a hand in that defeat, but they've switched sides.
 
I wonder what percentage of the sales of the Grande Marque houses are accounted for by the Novye Nomenklatura? I can’t imagine the the growers who we largely groove on are terribly bothered by this.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Although the Battle of Borodino is officially described as a French victory (though a Pyrrhic one) by historians, Tolstoy marks it as the beginning of the end for Napoleon's army.
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May I trust that everyone here has seen Minard's magnificent graphic concerning Napoleon's visit to Russia?
 
originally posted by MLipton:
I wonder what percentage of the sales of the Grande Marque houses are accounted for by the Novye Nomenklatura? I can’t imagine the the growers who we largely groove on are terribly bothered by this.

Mark Lipton
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Almost surely true, but that hardly undercuts the highhandedness of what the Russians have done. It's one thing to say you can call your own fizzies Champagne if you want to. It's another to say that French Champagne from Champagne can't.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
originally posted by MLipton:
I wonder what percentage of the sales of the Grande Marque houses are accounted for by the Novye Nomenklatura? I can’t imagine the the growers who we largely groove on are terribly bothered by this.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

Almost surely true, but that hardly undercuts the highhandedness of what the Russians have done. It's one thing to say you can call your own fizzies Champagne if you want to. It's another to say that French Champagne from Champagne can't.
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I was explaining to my ten year old grandson, Jack, that it took 20 nickels to make a dollar. He said it only took 10. I said no, that was wrong. He said “not in my world it isn’t.”
Blessed be the paradigm shifters.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
originally posted by MLipton:
I wonder what percentage of the sales of the Grande Marque houses are accounted for by the Novye Nomenklatura? I can’t imagine the the growers who we largely groove on are terribly bothered by this.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

Almost surely true, but that hardly undercuts the highhandedness of what the Russians have done. It's one thing to say you can call your own fizzies Champagne if you want to. It's another to say that French Champagne from Champagne can't.
Click to expand...

I was explaining to my ten year old grandson, Jack, that it took 20 nickels to make a dollar. He said it only took 10. I said no, that was wrong. He said “not in my world it isn’t.”
Blessed be the paradigm shifters.
Click to expand...

He has discovered arbitrage at an early age.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
I wonder what percentage of the sales of the Grande Marque houses are accounted for by the Novye Nomenklatura? I can’t imagine the the growers who we largely groove on are terribly bothered by this.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

I can't quote percentages, but the major cities are flooded with Champagne. It is also a market in which no Grande Marque will want to lose their market share to a neighbor, whatever the percentages are. Champagne has been on a tear positioning themselves as a luxury product, particularly with the rise of high-quality sparkling wine in several other regions. A country in which luxury car manufacturers partner with the Grandes Marques to install a house-branded chiller and stemware cabinet in the back seat is a PR gold mine.
 

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The law doesn't forbid the word Champagne but rather shamponskoye (шампанское) which means that French front labels will not need to be changed. There was some confusion early on since shamponskoye is the usual translation for Champagne.

This was aimed at older Soviet Republics rather than France and the guess is that they are using the law to boost the Crimean sparkling wine industry which is now, of course, Russian.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=181321&p=3293620&hilit=champagne#p3293620

The law doesn't forbid the word Champagne but rather shamponskoye (шампанское) which means that French front labels will not need to be changed. There was some confusion early on since shamponskoye is the usual translation for Champagne.

This was aimed at older Soviet Republics rather than France and the guess is that they are using the law to boost the Crimean sparkling wine industry which is now, of course, Russian.
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This is why people don't like having their mind changed by facts. They ruin a perfectly entertaining story.
 
By the way, gents, all of this was written in the article in the OP.

I suppose none of you, other than Jay, knows how to read (and Jay has a 22-hour lag time (which, now that I think of it, isn't bad (for him))).
 
Today's Washington Post has an extended version of the story. It is true that front labels in Latin alphabet won't have to change. But the Russian translation of Champagne is Shamponskoye and they won't be able to use that word and will be forced to label their wine as sparkling wine in Russian. The EU is encouraging responses along the lines of refusing export. The boycott wouldn't be too costly since, despite the long history of Russian and Champagne, they aren't actually a major export market since Champagne is even more of a luxury item there and only bought by the rich. On the other hand, the Russians who buy Champagne won't have any trouble knowing what they are buying. So the whole thing will be about the principle of the thing. It seems to me neither a matter of nothing at all nor really that earthshaking. Maybe not a mountain, but a smallish hill rather than a mole hole.
 
My partner and I drank a bottle of Soviet Russian fizz when we were there in 2014. Meh. A little sweet, not as bad as you think, not worth having twice.
 
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