EU authorities smash 3,200 bottles of bubbly
Gallo sparkling wine exported with 'Champagne' label was headed for Nigeria
Bottles of sparkling wine, originating from the United States and en route to Africa, are destroyed Tuesday in the port of Antwerp after Belgian customs authorities seized more than 3,200 bottles that were illegally labeled as Champagne.
World Customs OrganizationPublished: Friday, January 11, 2008 at 3:34 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.
European customs officials destroyed more than 3,200 bottles of California sparkling wine this week, sparking a war of words between U.S. and European winemakers that highlights continuing tensions over when wine can be called "Champagne."
Belgian officials seized a shipment of Andre "California Champagne" in the port of Antwerp on Tuesday as part of a campaign to crack down on what they called "counterfeit" wine entering Europe.
The cheap bubbly, made by E&J Gallo in Modesto, was never intended for European consumers, according to Gallo. The wine was owned by a "third party" that was transporting it to Nigeria, Gallo said.
The destination made little difference to European officials. On Thursday, they called a news conference to release a video that showed boxes of Andre sparkling wine, stacked in the back of a garbage truck, crushed by massive metal jaws into a heap of glass shards and soggy muck.
The seizure is the latest skirmish in a global battle by European food and drink producers to protect their brands by enforcing laws that say only products made in their original regions can carry names such as Champagne, Parma ham or Danish Blue cheese.
In the European Union and in non-EU nations that recognize label of origin rules, Champagne can only come from the region of the same name in northern France.
" 'Champagne' is a protected appellation of origin which can only be attributed to wines coming from the Champagne region," said Bruno Paillard, representing vintners from the French region.
The EU protects hundreds of products under its rules -- including British ales, German sausages and nine varieties of Portuguese honey.
Paillard said selling other wines with the Champagne label amounts to counterfeiting.
"The struggle against counterfeiting is important not only for the wine producers, but also . . . for the consumers because is it always the consumer, being less-informed, that is more often tricked," said Paillard, a French Champagne producer.
"It is not the wine connoisseurs that get tricked because they know the difference, so our priority is to defend the average consumers," he told a news conference.
Belgian customs officials discovered the shipment of sparkling wine bottles bearing the labels "California Champagne" and "Andre Champagne Cellars" destined for Nigeria.
All 3,288 bottles were destroyed Tuesday, officials said.
Most countries around the world -- including Nigeria -- respect the rules granting exclusive use of the Champagne label to the French producers.
Some American winemakers are allowed to call their wines "California Champagne" if they are sold in the United States as part of a compromise reached after years of trade negotiations with the EU.
However, they are not allowed to export anything called Champagne to countries that recognize the EU's protection system.
Belgium customs officials said the latest discovery was nothing new. Among previously seized shipments were bottles of "Shampagne" from Ethiopia and "Champana" from Argentina.
But Gallo and U.S. wine officials accused the French group of misleading consumers in a news release publicizing the seizure.
The Wine Institute, the San Francisco-based wine lobby of which Gallo is the largest member, said it was wrong to refer to the seized wine as "counterfeit."
"The Office of Champagne should stop portraying the mistaken shipment of California Champagne by a third party as counterfeit product," Bobby Koch, president of the Wine Institute, said in a statement. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
The Office of Champagne, USA, represents the French wine region's interests in the United States. It put out a news release praising the destruction of U.S. sparkling wines "seeking access to the European market." It also provided a link to video of the destruction, and used the event to stress that it believes use of the term "California Champagne" misleads consumers.
"It is disingenuous for some American producers to use a legal loophole to masquerade as Champagne and mislead the public," said Sharon Castillo, director of the Office of Champagne, USA.
But Gallo said it's not misleading anyone. The wine was on its way to Nigeria and was owned by a "third party based in the United States who sells product to cruise ships."
"News released by the Office of Champagne, USA misleads consumers by suggesting E&J Gallo Winery ignored regulations and intended to make counterfeit product available to European consumers," the winery said.
Castillo's release fails to mention that the wine was destined for Nigeria, but Castillo said that's beside the point.
"As soon as it touches EU soil, it is subject to the laws of that country," Castillo said.
Officials from the Brussels-based World Customs Organization said the destruction would send a message that wrongly labeled goods would not be tolerated in Europe.
However, the EU acknowledged that some make it through to the European market. "The EU does not have enough people to check each grocery store to insure that each Champagne bottle is labeled correctly," said Michael Mann, EU agriculture spokesman.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article