With its law which undermines the protected designation of champagne, the Kremlin is pushing the cork too far for the French government.
"The only champagne is French", reaffirmed Friday the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie during a visit to the 75th edition of the agricultural and trade fair of Châlons-en-Champagne.
“I am meeting the professionals in the sector this afternoon.
We have asked the Russian authorities, he said.
We multiply the discussions with determination.
We will not let go ”
The president of the Hauts-de-France regional council Jean Rottner said he was to discuss this subject with the minister at the end of the day.
According to the mayor of Epernay, Franck Leroy, "we are heading towards a diplomatic solution between France and Russia".
The management of the Interprofessional Committee for Champagne Wine (CIVC), however, announced on Friday morning that there was no response at this stage to the joint letter sent by ministers Bruno Le Maire, Julien Denormandie and Franck Riester to their Russian counterparts.
The prestigious title of "champagne" downgraded to "sparkling wine"
Signed on July 2, the new Russian wine law obliges champagne distributors to swap the prestigious title of “champagne” for that of “sparkling wine” on the back label of the bottles written in Cyrillic, reserving the name “champanskoye” to Russian producers of sparkling wines.
The Interprofessional Committee for Champagne Wine has advised producers not to comply with the new Russian law and to temporarily suspend exports.
Russia is the 15th largest champagne export market, with around two million bottles out of the 150 million sold on average each year outside France.
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Alcohol
Consumption
Russia
Julien Denormandie
Economy
Wine
Champagne
Kremlin