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The Swiss village of Champagne near Lake Neuchâtel may no longer use its name on the labels of the wines produced there following a court ruling. After the designation "Vin de Champagne" was already banned in 2003, the designation "Commune Champagne" is now also illegal. The Constitutional Court of the Canton of Vaud justifies the decision by saying that the term "Champagne" enjoys exclusive protection under the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the EU. This would prohibit "any use of the name for wines that do not come from the French Champagne region".
The ruling thus contradicts the cantonal authorities' January 2021 permission to use the name Champagne on Swiss wines. They had argued that there was no risk of confusion between the Swiss white wines of 28 hectares and the French sparkling wines of about 34,000 hectares. The association of champagne producers had filed a complaint against this and was now proven right.
(al / Photo: Wikipedia)