When you buy a French Chablis, it will be made only from Chardonnay grapes grown in a small district in France, because that is required under French law.
Likewise, when you buy a Sancerre, it can only be a sauvignon blanc from the eastern Loire Valley; a Beaujolais can only be made from the Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc grape grown in a district of Burgundy, and a port only from Portuguese grape varieties and made in Portugal.
It has been about 15 years since the United States belatedly agreed to recognize such wine terms as protected place names because they are actual regions in Europe. It's kind of like "Parmigiano Reggiano," which can only be made in certain Italian districts, though "parmesan" is an Americanized version that's widely used -- and one that gourmets usually hate.
The controversy over place names still riles many Europeans, such as the many producers of cheddar cheese in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset where the cheese originated, using a proprietary process. Today the word cheddar is used around the world indiscriminately, much to the anger of Somersetians.
One of the most interesting place name arguments involves Champagne, which can only come from that district in France. As such, it must be capitalized and cannot be used by wineries for new U.S. wines.
Yet it is still used on wine labels of several U.S. wineries because of a curious series of historic events.
The French long have claimed that several French place names had been unfairly usurped by U.S. wineries in the years before Prohibition and after, including Chablis and Burgundy. All of the American wineries using that term used it for blended red wines.
The French claimed (rightly) that not one American Chablis or Burgundy was anything remotely close to their French antecedents. Champagne also was widely used on U.S. wine labels for anything that had bubbles, further angering the French.
France tried to outlaw these practices by international treaty in 1891 and later with a special clause in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which dealt with the end of the First World War.
However, President Woodrow Wilson's controversial efforts to set up the League of Nations ended with the United States never signing that treaty, although other nations did. Besides, by that time, the United States was just entering a zero-alcohol period (Prohibition), so the matter became moot.
When Prohibition was lifted on Dec. 5, 1933, the French again toyed with the idea of trying to get Champagne stricken from use in the States, but by then the entire California wine business was in shambles, with only poor-quality grapes left in vineyards that had largely been left untended for 16 years.
Moreover, only one "Champagne" was being made in California in the 1930s -- by winery owner Paul Masson, a French expatriate, who started making it in 1892. It wouldn't be until the 1960s that sparkling wine making resumed in California.
And the French had other things on their mind, like the rebuilding of Europe after WWII, Communism, NATO, nuclear power... By contrast, California "Champagne" was too tiny a subject to worry about.
It wasn't until 2006 that the French (and other European nations) resumed campaigns against misuse of their place names.
That led to a pact. The United States agreed to ban most French place names like Champagne, Chablis and Burgundy for all new wines -- but it grandfathered in the use of those names for wineries that had long-established brands using the terms.
Among them was Sonoma County sparkling wine producer Korbel, which still can call its bubblies "California Champagne."
Wine of the Week: 2020 Laetitia Chardonnay, Arroyo Grande Valley, Estate Bottled -- The aroma here is marked by citrus and delicate pear notes, a trace of oak aging, and an excellent mid-palate richness combined with good acidity for pairing with light fish dishes. Good value.
To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM
8 comments:
Too intellectual for me to make a comment.
OMG. is this Dan guy a moron? Did he just read a book on wine or something? Can’t wait to see what insightful information Ole Dan has for us next week. French Food and how the French beat Spain to the punch. Sushi, it’s raw fish, who knew? Seafood is actually from the ocean and why we should care. Wienerschnitzel Is not a German hotdog but could it be? I could have lots of fun with Dan. Lol
@6:09 PM
What exactly does “too intellectual” mean? I’ve pondered this question for the absolute longest time or ever since 10th grade where one day my Biology teacher asked the class if at least one student would stand and define the Law of Gravity? Well, as you can imagine, no one rushed to answer the question. So, feeling like it was the perfect time to improve her lack of attention, Deidre stood up. But just when she was about to open her mouth, Mrs. Powe yelled, “Sit down!”
“Why?” Deidre asked, shocked to hear the teacher’s raised voice.
Mrs. Powe frowned, “Cause you’re too ugly.”
The classroom erupted in laughter. No sooner than Deidre sunk into her chair, I stood and asked Mrs. Powe what did “too ugly” mean? She replied, “Everyone is ugly to someone. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As the case, beautiful qualities can and will be FOUND in everybody.”
She then closed her eyes, shook her head and turned her attention back to Deidre before ending, “But that child is ‘too ugly’ to even offer the time it takes to look.”
The classroom drowned in tears.
So, upon reading your comment, I wondered if perhaps you meant the same? Does “too intellectual” mean too much of a thing for the human brain to unpack?
Lmaoooo @2 comments
Found this very interesting. Thanks for posting this.
Think of it in American terms: If France made a bottom of the barrel rotgut and called it Napa Valley Wine the vintners in Napa would be out of their minds mad. This is exactly what we have done to nearly every major wine region in the world. Chablis, Chianti, Burgundy, and Port are all cheap jug wines in America.
A smash sandwich is something you get in France KF.
"Think of it in American terms: If France made a bottom of the barrel rotgut and called it Napa Valley Wine the vintners in Napa would be out of their minds mad. This is exactly what we have done to nearly every major wine region in the world. Chablis, Chianti, Burgundy, and Port are all cheap jug wines in America."
There is so much wrong...and yet, surprisingly telling...in this. Among the biggies is that "Napa Valley Wine" is about as meaningful as "Wine," so while it would be an arguable mislabeling for "France" to do that ("France" doing it aside), no one who actually cared or knew the difference would be factually misled by such a label. Another is that anyone who knew or cared would actually be misled by labels with the words "Chianti" or "Port" on them. To be fair, the same is true of "Champagne," etc. However, the idea of protecting the use of terms, like trademarks, is reasonable - the infringed party cannot allow it because doing do could be considered an abandonment of the protected thing.
But let's not confuse the legal aspects with the reality on the ground - if you don't know what you are buying, be it wine, watches, fine forearms, art, or anything else - don't buy it. At the end of the day, it's a caveat emptor world out there. In Mississippi terms, putting "F250," "Superduty," and "6.7" on a 1990whatever Yugo sedan won't fool any potential buyers looking for the "real thing."
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