by Larry Walker

The Office of Champagne USA has launched an online and print advertising campaign called ‘Unmask the Truth’, aimed at asking consumers to support name protection.

The fight to stop US producers from using the word ‘Champagne’ to describe their New World bubbly has been raging for decades. So far, the French and the European Union have not been able to prevent mass market producers like Korbel and Gallo from calling their cheaper products ‘Champagne’.

Despite this, Sharon Castillo, head of the Office of Champagne in the US told Meininger’s Wine Business International that “we are optimistic, but do not expect results overnight. American consumers are increasingly demanding accurate wine labels and we stand with them.”

The campaign, launched to coincide with the holiday season, stresses the solidarity with Champagne by US wine organizations, such as the Napa Valley Vintners, a group that has had its own problems with protecting nomenclature origins.

The ad features a mask over a Champagne bottle labeled ‘American Champagne’ and asks consumers to support name protection by signing an online petition at www.champagne.us. One of the main elements of the campaign is large outdoor media in Times Square and in the heart of San Francisco during the holidays.

The US passed legislation banning the future misuse of 16 wine place names, including Champagne, in 2006 but allowed those currently using the place names to continue.