Champagne Continued

Laws governing the use of the name Champagne on a bottle of sparkling wine are rooted in the legal protections established in the early twentieth century. The area of France currently known as Champagne where champagne is produced was established by law in 1927 when an earlier law was adapted and a second Champagne zone was added to the official Champagne region, which enabled farmers from the Aube and Seine-et-Marne region to deliver grapes for Champagne. The production area, known as ‘la Champagne’, is spread over 312 villages. It consists of the entire Region of Champagne-Ardennes plus the departement of Yonne (in Burgundy, to the south), Aisne (in Picardie, to the west), Seine-et-Marne (in île-de-France, to the west, south of Picardie), and Meuse (in Lorraine, to the east).

The production of Champagne is centered around the cities of Reims, Châlons-en-Champagne and Épernay. The composition of the subsoil, combined with Champagne’s micro-climates, determines the subtle differences between each cru (cru = "growth place") and influences the characteristics of individual wines. Although other French wine-producing regions claim to have made sparkling wine earlier, this area was the first place to produce the bubbly beverage in significant quantities.

The trademark of Champagne is one of the best protected trademarks in the world. The "Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC)”, an organization in France established to protect the rights of champagne producers, uses its efforts to prevent any improper use of the name. CICV has been very successful in Europe. Within the European Economic Community (EEC) their guidelines have been established as law.

There were earlier incarnations of the laws protecting the use of the term Champagne, and limiting it to sparkling wine produced in a well-defined region of France. In December 1908 the French government decided that Champagne could only be called Champagne if the grapes originated from a neatly defined area in the Marne and Aisne area. This immediately antagonized the winegrowers outside of the area who had for many years delivered their grapes to the Champagne makers. The farmers from the Aube area were incensed.

In February 1911 further guidelines were established which would penalize manufacturers who used grapes from Aube for their Champagnes. This triggered the infamous Champagne riots. These riots ran amok and on April 11, 1911, 5,000 angry Champagne farmers from the Aube region joined forces and stormed through the official Champagne region, rioting and demolishing everything within their reach. As the story is told, streets were flowing with wine and Champagne. 40,000 "peacekeepers" were summoned and ruthlessly "restored" law and order. Damage to the infrastructure of the region and the Champagne houses was left in their wake.

In June 1936 the Appelation d’Origine Controlée (AOC) for Champagne was established. At that time it was necessary to include that distinction on the label. As it stands today, Champagne may only be called Champagne if produced from grapes originating from an area that has been approved by the AOC.