Thanks for this - I did not know about Article 275 of the Treaty of Versailles : incredible ! Now one can understand why it did not get sufficient support in the US Senate - it was all due to underground pressure on the part of the Californian vine-growers...
I have before me the magnificent cover of FH 140. Churchill is having a brandy, judging from the shape of the glass, but apart from the baby with his bottle and the boy with a beer (?) they all seem to be raising a "coupe" to the health of the happy octagenerian. Thanks to the List for teaching me that the standard "coupe" was shaped after Marie-Antoinette's breasts (obviously an apocryphal story - but seductive regardless). There is no bottle to be seen. What is in the "coupes"? Yugoslav fizz ? (Most common in British "off-licences" in the 1950s - at the time, grocery shops and the few early "supermarkets" were not allowed to sell "intoxicating liquor".) I am surprised that Low should not have placed a magnum (at least) of Pol Roger in a prominent position. By the way, who is the lady on the wall picture on the back cover? It is obviously Marlborough on the front cover - but who is she ? Best wishes to all, Antoine Capet, Rouen (France) ========== ----- Original Message ----- From: Anthony Calabrese To: List Churchill Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 6:53 PM Subject: [ChurchillChat] Re: WSC & champagne The French have been very protective of the word "champagne." The Treaty of Versailles contains the following: Article 275 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. This has been interpreted to mean that ratifying power to the treaty could not allow winemakers to use the term "champagne." Some winemakers (such as Spain) were not parties to the treaty. I believe there also was a question of whether Australia itself ratified the treaty, or whether Britain ratified it on behalf of the British Empire. The US did not ratify the treaty (the right result, though for the wrong reasons) so this clause did not apply to us. The EU later clarified that the "champagne" designation only could apply to wine from Champagne. In teh US, many wineries used the term "champagne" as a generic term. The French were not happy about that. Today, basically this is no longer iused, for two reasons: 1. US winemakers themselves stopped using the term themselves. The US wine industry has matured and now produces wines that often are better than France. So there is no longer a need to try and enbvoke the mystery of French wine (and to the fact that many French champagne houses have moved into California). Also, with the maturity of the California industry, "Napa" and "California" have become generic names for certain styles of wines in India and China. So American wine producers have a common cause with their French brethren. 2. UNder US consumer protection law, you can no longer use the term "champagne" unless you used it before 2006. So how does this tie back to Churchill? On Election Night I was drinking champagne. My wife asked why, considering that I was a rather strong McCain partisan. I replied by paraphrasing Churchill -- "Champagne -- in defeat I need it". Send e-mail faster without improving your typing skills. Get your Hotmail® account. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ChurchillChat?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
