Due to a new Russian law published by Reuters by the French champagne industry group

PARIS / MOSCOW (Reuters) – The French champagne industry on Monday overturned a new Russian law requiring foreign producers to add a “sparkling wine” reference to their champagne bottles and called for a halt to exports to Russia.

The law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday requires all foreign producers of sparkling wine to be described on the back of the bottle, even if not on the front, Russian “shampanskoye” authors can continue to use it. term only.

The French champagne industry has at the moment called on its members to suspend shipments to Russia and the name “champagne”, which refers to the French region of origin of the drink, had legal protection in 120 countries.

“The Champagne Commission regrets that this legislation does not ensure that Russian consumers have clear and transparent information about the origin and characteristics of the wine,” group members Maxime Toubart and Jean-Marie Barillere said in a statement.

French Trade Minister Franck Riester said he was following Russia’s new law closely and was in contact with the wine industry and France’s European partners.

“We will continue to support our producers and French excellence,” he said on Twitter.

French manufacturer LVMH, which owns LVMH champagnes Moet Hennessy, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon, said on Sunday that it would start adding the designation “sparkling wine” to the back of bottles to comply with law in Russia.

Shares of LVMH were down about 0.2% on Monday evening, down from the Paris Stock Exchange, up 0.34%.

Shares of Russian sparkling wine Abrau-Durso rose by more than 3% in early trading after also rising by 7.77%.

Pavu Titov, president of Abrau-Durso, told Radio France Internationale on Saturday that his company did not have sparkling wines in its portfolio that would be called “champagne” and said he hoped the problem would be resolved in accordance with global rules and standards.

“It is very important to protect the Russian wines on our market. But the legislation must be reasonable and does not contradict common sense … I have no doubt that real champagne is made in the French Champagne region,” he said.

The European Commission has said that legislation on spirit and wine in Russia will have a major impact on wine exports and will do everything it can to express its disagreement and concern.

“We will do everything necessary to protect our rights and take the necessary measures if this law enters into force,” said European Commission spokeswoman Miriam Garcia Ferrer.

Asked what steps the European Union could take to respond to Russian law, he said it was too early to discuss the situation.