French champagne industry group fumes over new Russian champagne law
PARIS/MOSCOW (Reuters) -France's champagne industry group on Monday blasted a new Russian law forcing foreign champagne producers to add a "sparkling wine" reference to their bottles and called for champagne exports to Russia to be halted.
The law, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, requires all foreign producers of sparkling wine to describe their product as such on the label on the back of the bottle -- though not on the front -- while makers of Russian "shampanskoye" may continue to use that term alone.
The French champagne industry group called on its members to halt all shipments to Russia for the time being and said the name "champagne", which refers to the region in France the drink comes from, had legal protection in 120 countries.
"The Champagne Committee deplores the fact that this legislation does not ensure that Russian consumers have clear and transparent information about the origins and characteristics of wine," group co-presidents Maxime Toubart and Jean-Marie Barillere said in a statement.
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