Champagne versus Sparkling Wine

The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I in 1919. The Champagne region of France was virtually destroyed during the war because of intense fighting. Article 275 was added to the treaty to protect the Champagne producers from being further harmed by other countries producing “fake” Champagne while the region recovered from the war. The Article stated the following:

“Germany undertakes on condition that reciprocity is accorded in these matters to respect any law, or any administrative or judicial decision given in conformity with such law, in force in any Allied or Associated State and duly communicated to her by the proper authorities, defining or regulating the right to any regional appellation in respect of wine or spirits produced in the State to which the region belongs, or the conditions under which the use of any such appellation may be permitted; and the importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution, sale or offering for sale of products or articles bearing regional appellations inconsistent with such law or order shall be prohibited by the German Government and repressed by the measures prescribed in the preceding Article.”

The previous Article 274 prohibited Germany from importing or producing products which claimed to originate in another region which was part of any of the allied nations. Thus, to call a wine Champagne would have violated that Article of the treaty. However, the US Senate never ratified the Treaty of Versailles because it required the US to join the League of Nations. ( U.S.–German Peace Treaty was ratified in 1921). In 1917, two years before the treaty was ratified, the US Congress passed the 18th Amendment, which made the importation or sale of alcohol illegal. By 1920, the amendment was ratified by three fourths of the states, and the 18th Amendment because law. Prohibition ended in 1933, but in 1940 Germany invaded France, so the issue was not addressed until after the end of World War II.

However, the use of the word “Champagne” to refer to any sparkling wine continued in the US until 2006. This created tension between the US and European countries. (The EU set trade rules for all member nations.) In 2005, the US signed an agreement with the European Union that stated the term California Champagne would no longer appear on US wine labels. The treaty did allow Champagne producers in the US to continue to use the term champagne if they were in existence prior to 2005, but they must include the geographic origin on the label. So, generally Champagne must be produced in the region of Champagne in France, and must follow the rules established by the AOC of Champagne for producing it. All other sparkling wine, even from other regions in France, cannot be called champagne. If you are looking for Champagne in a wine shop, and you notice very low prices on some “Champagnes”, check to see where the wine was made. I will post more on this topic in the future.