A California Sparkling Wine

What’s in a wine name? In the wine world, names are very important. Wineries and wine regions are proud of their wines whether it is the individual winery or a specific wine area.

I read with interest an article in the Press Democrat that for the 2013 Inauguration, Korbel California Cellars is providing a beverage. Korbel California Champagne is to be on the menu. According to the article, “Controversy bubbles up over Korbel ‘champagne’ description for inauguration” by Jeremy Hay, a press release about the Inauguration said that the beverage was Korbel Champagne California rather than Korbel California Champagne. It doesn’t seem like a big difference, does it? But it has upset some people, who only want the sparkling beverage labeled Champagne if it is from Champagne, France.

The rules regarding the usage of the word Champagne are interesting. It turns out that some US wineries use the word Champagne but usually these are wineries that have been grandfathered in.

According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in 2006 the EU and US signed a wine agreement that included the use of semi-generic names. “In the agreement the U.S. committed to seeking to change the legal status of the semi-generic names to restrict their use solely to wines originating in the applicable EU member state with certain exceptions, in particular, a “grandfather” provision.  For more information, visit the TTB website.

As far as the press release goes, it was likely an honest mistake not meant to impinge on Champagne and its followers.

A solution is waiting. Isn’t it time for people in the United States to come up with a better word to use than the term “sparkling wine?” What word do you think conveys the sparkling wines of the US?

Kathy