French steal Swiss town’s Champagne identity

Wine — By DJ Spiess on April 14, 2008 at 9:05 pm

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This is the exact problem facing a Swiss town. The town of Champagne, Switzerland, was told to phase out their name by 2004. In what might possibly be the only known surrender to France in modern history, the Swiss government ceded the name to the French in 1999. The Swiss town is fighting the ruling, and in a recent open air vote they decided to continue using the name.

Champagne,-Switzerland is close to the border next to France

The EU determined that Champagne should only apply to the sparkling wine. So you ask, what’s in a name? The town of Champagne used to sell 110,000 bottles of wine, but since losing the right to use the name the sales have dropped to 32,000. To add insult to injury, the courts in Paris are trying to block a local bakery from selling biscuits labeled “Champagne recipe”.

The town has used the name since 885, and they started growing grapes in the region in 1657. Sparkling wine dates back to 1535, but the champagne we are familiar with did not show until the 1800s.

This story has everything that points to the end of the world – angry Swiss people taking a stand, and a government actually surrendering to the French. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

(Source: Reuters )

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