Exclusive: Protecting the Champagne name in China

               By Maxime Lu / 陆江

Published on DecanterChina.COM, Chinese version of Decanter.

4 February 2016

With Bordeaux gaining its protected geographic indication (GI) status in 2015, it is believed that the Chinese market, which has grown over 30% in wine import volume and value in 2015, is making progress in protecting the names of the most illustrious wine regions in the world.

Champagne, however, received its GI protection in China two years earlier. Being one of the first French wine regional bodies to set up an office in China, the CIVC shares its experiences in defending the name ‘Champagne’ in the country and promoting the concept among both trade and consumers.

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Image: Wang Wei, representative of the Comité Champagne (CIVC) in China

What the GI does

A geographic indication (GI) is a ‘clearly defined, specific place of origin,’ explained Wang Wei, representative of the Comité Champagne’s China office.

‘The unique local geographic environment brings particular characteristics to its product, therefore only this area is granted the right to use a specific name. The concept came from Europe but is now used globally,’ she added.

Champagne gained its GI status in the early 20th century. It is one of the first wine producing regions to receive such recognition, introduced CIVC.

For an immature market like China, a GI is a helpful guide for consumers as it ‘suggests the style and features of the region, and provides some guarantee to the quality’, said Wang Wei.

‘When seeing the name “Champagne”, you will know that the wine has bubbles, and was made by fermenting in the bottle; also it suggests that the wine was made under strict regulations in grape selection, production and winemaking,’ said Wang Wei.

How to protect a European GI in China

Fresh import figures shows that in 2015, the total value of imported sparkling wines in China was 6m USD, down by 27% compared to 2014.

‘China has never been a major market for Champagne,’ confessed the China representative for the trade body, which set up its office in the country in 2006.

‘However, the Champanions decided that works need to be done to clean up the market environment and set up protections, before a market can really start to blossom for them.’

‘The Chinese market used to be flooded with “big champagnes”, “little champagnes”, “pink champagnes”—anyone could use the name. If we had allowed them spamming the market, consumers could never find out what real champagnes taste like. That’s bad news for any brand to develop naturally and positively in China.’

Among the French wine regions which hold a GI status, Champagne was the pioneer to set up an office in China. Through great efforts and spending a long time, the region was finally granted legal protection by the Chinese authorities in 2013, following Napa (2012).

‘Since then, we were able to take legal actions against the knock-offs,’ she explained.

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Image: Champagne vineyards © Decanter

For importers of regular sparkling wines who misused the Chinese name for Champagne ‘香槟’ on their labels, the CIVC China office would firstly ‘file a polite letter of notification, stating that this is an act of infringement, and demand them to stop using Champagne on the label. ’

‘Some of them would reply politely, saying that they were indeed unaware of the regulations, and were willing to make corrections,’ said Wang Wei, who considers this ‘a process you have to go through to gain understanding in the trade’. By doing this, ‘we hope to push for the trade to regulate itself,’ she added.

As for the cheap, low-quality knock-offs made by small local wineries, the trade body usually resort to the help of the local government, who can conduct investigations, confiscate the fakes, and urge offenders to stop the production.

Sometimes a fine is imposed. ‘Though the fine won’t be a lot, but it’s more like a statement: the term Champagne can’t be used lightly, and that the Champagne region is very serious about protecting its rights in China,’ said Wang Wei.

‘We are generally content about the progress we made in protecting the Champagne brand in the Chinese market at the moment.’

Promote the concept of geographic indication

Having said that, although the Chinese consumers are more and more conscious about protecting their rights and seeking for heathier and safer products, the geographic indication is still a concept ‘yet to be known by all’ in China, Wang Wei told DecanterChina.com.

‘Different local law enforcement departments don’t always understand the necessity of GI protection in the same way,’ said Wang Wei. ‘Sometimes we have to spend a very long time to explain and provide plenty of evidence, so as to help the local officials to understand what we’re asking for.’

In order to better communicate the concept of Champagne and the EU geographic protection system, ‘in 2015, we used every opportunity, including various government and trade seminars, to promote the idea of GI protection,’ said Wang Wei.

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Image: Louis Roederer vineyards and horses, Champagne © Decanter

Educating consumers about Champagne is also an important part of the work, said Wang Wei.

‘There are many ways to spot a fake Champagne, such as via the certificate of origin or information on the wine label. But the consumers need some basic wine knowledge to do that.’

‘Everything we do today is for protecting the value of the ‘Champagne’ brand. The higher the value is the more efficient protection it needs.’

GI protection on China’s domestic products

As one of the pioneers in GI protection in China, the CIVC said that it’s happy to pass on the experiences to China’s domestic products.

‘China has many quality agricultural products that are made in a specific region and hold unique characteristics,’ Wang Wei told DecanterChina.com that due to lack of protection, many of these product or region names tend to be misused in the market. ‘Once the consumers get confused, the credibility of the name will be lost.’

In order to make the GI protection to take effect and bring actual profit to the local people, ‘the authorities need to pay enough attention to it. We will need a more comprehensive legal protection system, and train the law enforcers about the importance of intellectually property rights,’ suggested Wang Wei.

‘Properly reinforced GI protection will directly benefit both producers and consumers. It is also in line with the country’s strategy of sustainable development,’ she concluded.

Translated by Sylvia Wu / 吴嘉溦

Source: https://www.decanterchina.com/en/knowledge/people/region-authorities/exclusive-protecting-the-champagne-name-in-china

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王蔚:香槟在中国的地理标志保护

文:陆江|葡萄酒在线

(本文已发表于Decanter中文版-醇鉴中国,转载请标明出处和署名)

近年来葡萄酒产区地理标志保护开始逐渐在中国推进,2012年美国纳帕河谷获得中国政府地理标志保护后,2013年香槟也被保护,2015年是波尔多。现在酒类中,干邑,纳帕,香槟、波尔多、苏格兰威士忌,特其拉(Tequila)都获得了地理标志认证, 消费者也能经常看到。

134738_champagne-civc-wang-wei图片:法国香槟酒行业委员会(CIVC)在华首席代表王蔚

地理标志保护有什么用?

地理标志认证指的是“某一划分清楚的、特定的产区,以其独特的风土,给这里的产品带来了无可替代的唯一性,其他任何产区的产品都不可以使用这一产区的地理名称。”法国香槟酒行业委员会(CIVC)在华首席代表王蔚介绍道,这个概念最早在欧洲提出,现在已经普及到全球,而香槟在二十世纪初就已通过法律程序获得地理标示的认可,是最早得到认可的几个产区之一。

对中国这样还不是很成熟的葡萄酒消费市场来说,地理标志的意义在于“代表着产区独特的风格和特征,以及一个质量上的保障”,王蔚表示。

“首先它提供了一些基本信息,看到‘香槟’这个地理标志,(消费者)就会明白,这种酒是在瓶中发酵的,是带气泡的,也会知道是哪几种葡萄酿造的。此外在地理标志背后,有一系列严格的对于原料、生产过程、技术规范等等的规定,可以保证产品的品质和安全性,这对消费者是非常实用的一个标志。”

“香槟”标志维权在行动

进口数据显示,2015年中国进口起泡酒总额为6028万美元,较2014年减少27%。

从2006年法国香槟酒行业委员会在中国成立办公室之初至今,“中国都算不得是香槟酒很大的市场”,王蔚解释道,“但香槟人认为在这个市场繁荣起来以前,要先把清理、保护工作做好,让消费者了解到香槟这个名字真正代表的含义,才会喜欢上它,愿意为它消费。”

“在中国市场上出现过各种各样的大香槟、小香槟、粉红香槟……如果让它们充斥市场,那消费者就会一直搞不明白,也不会喝到真正的香槟。这对品牌在市场上正常、良性的发展非常不利。”王蔚解释道。

在法国有地理标志的产区中,香槟最早在中国设立办公室。

“我们花了很长时间致力于准备申请工作,并最终在2013年让香槟的地理标志获得法律认可和保护。之后我们就可以通过法律手段来查处一些山寨产品。”

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 图片:香槟葡萄品种霞多丽 © Decanter

遇到进口商在普通气泡酒的中文背标上标注香槟的情况,“(我们)首先会礼貌地发一封信函,申明这是侵权的行为,要求停止对香槟这一名称的使用。“有些(商家)就会客气答复,确实不了解这一标志是专有的,会进行改正。对于从业人员来说,这是一种理解,而由我们推动行业规范化,来理顺这个概念。”王蔚介绍说。

而对于地方小酒厂生产的低质量仿冒产品,CIVC可以通过行政部门进行查处,禁止生产,扣押货品,没收其非法所得,有时还会处以罚款。

“罚款金额可能并不大,但这是一种态度:香槟这个标志并不是谁都可以用的,以及香槟对于保护自己是非常重视的。”王蔚说,“我们对于现在在中国市场的进展和保护现状基本上是满意的。”

普及地理标志的概念

尽管中国消费者的维权意识逐渐增强,但在中国地理标志“还不是一个普及的概念”,这为维权工作提高的难度,王蔚解释道。

“不同地区的执法人员对此理解的程度也各有高低。在跟地方执法部门申请去打假的时候,需要花很长的时间,提供很多的证据,且要先做大量的解释工作,让执法人员理解这个概念才行。”王蔚说。

“2015年我们努力抓住一切机会来宣传地理标志的概念,比如政府部门研讨会,中国葡萄酒的地理标志研讨会等等,我们介绍香槟的概念,介绍整个欧盟地理标志体系的概念,做了很多交流和沟通。”

而我们也会对消费者进行香槟知识的培训和普及。有很多可以鉴别真伪的方式,比如真正的香槟,办理进口手续所要用到的原产地证都是香槟协会颁发的,如果不是,就要打个问号。除此之外,酒标上的信息、批次号码等都可以帮助识别,但是需要有一定的基础知识,帮助消费者掌握这些知识,也包括在我们的工作内容里了。

“所以我们今天所做的一切,初衷就是为了保护香槟这个名字的价值。价值越高,才越需要保护。”

 

134741_champagne-louis-roederer-horses-vines-cellar-credit-eric-pgrabham

 图片:路易王妃香槟葡萄园 © Decanter

在中国产品上推广维权经验

与此同时,法国香槟酒行业委员会希望能够为中国产品提供在地理标志维权中积累的经验。

“带地理标志的以农产品为多,而中国有很多这种源自特定产区的,独一无二的,高品质的农产品。”然而由于缺乏有效的维权行为,地理标志名称遭到滥用,“消费者会被混淆,这个名字的可信度会丧失,”王蔚指出。

为了让地理标志发挥效用,给当地人带来经济效益,“(有关部门)首先应给予(地理标志)足够重视,其次建立法律体系,完备执行人员的产权保护意识并执行下去。这对于生产者、消费者有直接利益,也符合国家可持续发展的策略。”王蔚建议道。

法国香槟和勃艮第正式入列世界遗产名录

经过8年努力法国香槟和勃艮第正式入列世界遗产名录

– 香槟的“葡萄园、酒庄和酒窖”和勃艮第的“风土特性”申遗成功

陆江(Maxime LU)

 

刚刚分别从法国勃艮第(Bourgogne)的葡萄酒行业协会(BIVB),和法国香槟委员会(CIVC)收到最新消息。

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2015年7月4日,在德国波恩的国际会议中心,在世界遗产委员会第39次会议中,法国香槟(Champagne)的“Coteaux,Maisons,Caves(葡萄园,酒庄,酒窖)”,和法国勃艮第(Bourgogne)的”Climats(风土特性)”申遗成功,正式入列联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)世界遗产名录(World Heritage List)。

勃艮第(Bourgogne)和香槟(Champagne)申遗成功后,法国这两大产区第一时间,发出官方声音:

来自勃艮第(Bourgogne)行业协会BIVB的声音:(编译:陆江 I 葡萄酒在线)

这项文化遗产有着卓越的普世价值的体现。这项人类的瑰宝终于被官方广泛认可:1247个风土特性(Climats),或葡萄园的地块,诸如像“Montrachet,Romanee-Conti,Clos de Vougeot,Corton, Musigny, Chambertin……这些也表达了勃艮第葡萄酒产区的文化多样性。最后在经过8年的努力和参与,勃艮第人们的梦想终于变成现实。

bivb8

勃艮第葡萄园和建筑/陆江摄影

  作为【勃艮第葡萄园风土联合会-Association des Climats du Vignoble de Bourgogne】的主席,也是申遗活动的主导者,罗曼尼康帝酒园(DRC)的掌舵人奥贝.德维兰(Aubert de Villaine)先生在得知申遗成功后,特别致辞说:

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罗曼尼康帝(DRC)葡萄园/陆江拍摄

  “今天,我要向所有坚持参与,并为之付出努力的人们表示崇高的敬意,和我由衷的感谢。这次成功申遗是集体努力的结果,是勃艮第当地权威机构、政府部门、科学委员会、以及葡萄酒领域的各界同仁的通力合作的结果。有超过64000人加入到我们的支持委员会”。

“这次成功,也是对历代先辈努力的肯定,包括西多会的僧侣们、勃艮第的公爵们、男人和女人们,还有葡萄酒生产者们,以及所有在那么多世纪以来,为勃艮第葡萄酒的卓越而奋斗的人们。”

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勃艮第酒窖/陆江拍摄

  “这次申遗成功让我们颇为自豪,这也是对我们为家园努力的一种肯定。”(编译:陆江 I 葡萄酒在线)

勃艮第风土特性:是人与自然的完美集成的结果。

bivb1

勃艮第葡萄园/陆江拍摄

  这次申遗成功,也是联合国教科文组织对勃艮第基于风土模式的一种肯定,显示了对于人类文明中多样性农业生产的重要性。也是勃艮第面对市场全球化的影响下,对标准化威胁的一种强有力的回应。(编译:陆江 I 葡萄酒在线)

来自香槟(Champagne)委员会CIVC的声音:

联合国教科文组织世界遗产委员会的21名缔约国成员代表在德国波恩投票并一致通过,将“ 香槟葡萄园、酒庄和酒窖 ”列入《世界遗产名录》中“持续进化的文化景观 ”类别。委员会成员认可其“突出的普遍价值”,认为香槟地区满足了对申遗财产的保护和管理条件。

champagne0

香槟酒窖/陆江拍摄

  联合国教科文组织法国代表、法国文化和环保部以及香槟代表团相关人员们激动的心情溢于言表。“感到心满意足、弹冠相庆 !我首先很自然想到了所有为申遗工作竭心尽力的工作者、所有支持这个卓越项目的合作伙伴以及香槟区人民,他们的家园刚刚得到了世界的公认。

此次入选是一种认可,同时也是对联合国的承诺。我们需要让这项荣誉实至名归。我们必须对这个景观、技艺和遗产加以保护,并完好无损地传承给子孙后代。这是对人类历史、对香槟区历史的一个承诺!”连续8年来策划并负责申遗事项的“ 香槟景观”协会主席——皮埃尔?舍瓦勒欢欣鼓舞地表示。

civc0

兰斯大教堂/陆江拍摄

  “ 香槟葡萄园、酒庄和酒窖 ”作为一个整体文化景观,不同于其他任何的葡萄酒产区!

自18世纪以来,产区的严格管理、世代香槟人的努力工作和实力的不断增强彰显出这独树一帜的生产、酿造和销售模式始终焕发着勃勃生机,深刻地改变了风土、乡村和城市景观,并孕育出举世闻名的香槟酒,使其成为节日和庆祝的象征。香槟区独特的文化景观和遗址作为一个整体,承载着深远的历史、文化和技艺,也因此成就了“ 香槟葡萄园、酒庄和酒窖 ”所具有的突出的普世价值。

另外本次大会中,中国的【土司遗址】也申遗成功。

“香槟-Champagne”地理标志在中国获得承认和保护

“香槟-Champagne”地理标志在中国获得承认和保护 

陆江(Maxime LU)/WineBlogChina.COM

2013年5月27日,我去参加了法国香槟协会(CIVC)在北京的法国驻华大使馆举办【“香槟-Champagne”获得中国地理标志保护】新闻发布会,随后参加了在北京亮马桥四季酒店举办的”香槟-Champagne”获得中国地理标志保护庆祝酒会。  

 

 法国香槟协会秘书长Jean-Luc Barbier、中国国家质检总局科技司司长裴晓颖、法国香槟协会中国代表王蔚、法国驻华使馆农业参赞李嘉霖等分别在发布会现场发言。其中还特别谈到中法两国在地理标志GI保护方面的合作和成果。香槟是中国国内酒类相关的第四个通过的被保护地理标示,前面3个分别是【干邑-Cognac】【苏格兰威士忌】【纳帕河谷(葡萄酒)〔Napa Valley(Wines)〕】。

香槟地理标志产品保护由法国香槟酒行业委员会提出申请,经中国国家质检总局批准,从2013年4月11日起,在中国境内对香槟(Champagne)实施地理标志产品保护。地理标志产品是指产自特定地域,所具有的质量、声誉或其他特性本质上取决于该产地的自然因素和人文因素,经审核批准以地理名称进行命名的产品。 

 

 

 

 

 

新闻发布会现场,还展示了法国香槟协会在世界各地维护”香槟-Champagne”的地理标志保护的努力和工作进展,以及香槟在中国市场的快速增长和相关数据。近年来中国是香槟市场增长最快的国家,中国目前是欧盟以外第五大香槟市场。本次”香槟-Champagne”的地理标志的被承认并被保护,将有利于制止各种滥用和仿冒行为,为香槟酒提供更宽泛和有效的保护。

 
“香槟-Champagne”获得中国地理标志保护庆祝酒会上,中法双方致辞并品饮香槟。著名的巴黎之花香槟(Perrier Jouet)、Devaux、Lanson等为来宾们提供了高水准的香槟产品。全场最值得推荐的是巴黎之花Perrier Jouet的Belle Epoque 2004,细腻复杂。