U.S., European Union square off over `geographic indications' - by ANDREW MARTIN
EPERNAY, France - The latest advertising campaign for Moet & Chandon, the venerable champagne maker, features sexy, festive models sipping tall glasses of bubbly and the slogan "Be Fabulous." Times do seem good at the company's sumptuously appointed tasting room, built to honor Napoleon Bonaparte, who stopped by on occasion to sip his favorite champagne. But for all its splendor, the truth is that all is not fabulous at the house of Moet & Chandon, nor at the other champagne makers in this affluent and picturesque region about 90 miles northwest of Paris.
Champagne is at the center of a decades-old trade dispute between the United States and Europe over who can use certain place names on their labels, whether it is bottles of champagne, packages of feta cheese or slabs of Parma ham. For the makers of Moet & Chandon, the idea of serving California champagne, which is marketed by a handful of American vintners, is sacrilege. They insist that only grapes grown in the cool climate and chalky soils near Epernay deserve the honor of stamping "champagne" on their label. For all their efforts to resolve the dispute over names, the French champagne industry is hardly struggling. The French sell about 300 million bottles of champagne a year compared with 30 million in 1950.
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