Brussels, Jan. 10 - Belgian authorities said Thursday they have destroyed a shipment of more than 3,000 bottles of California-made sparkling wine as part of a New Year's crackdown on illegally labeled Champagne.
The destruction of the U.S. bubbly highlights a global battle by European food and drink producers to protect their brands by enforcing laws that say only products made in their original regions can carry names such as Champagne, Parma ham or Danish Blue cheese.
In the E.U. and in non-E.U. nations that recognize label of origin rules, Champagne can only come from the region of the same name in northern France.
"'Champagne' is a protected appellation of origin which can only be attributed to wines coming from the Champagne region," said Bruno Paillard, representing vintners from the French region.
The E.U. protects hundreds of products under its rules - including U.K. ales, German sausages and nine varieties of Portuguese honey.
Paillard said selling other wines with the Champagne label amounts to counterfeiting that cheats consumers.
"The struggle against counterfeiting is important not only for the wine producers, but also ... for the consumers because it is always the consumer, being less-informed, that is more often tricked," said Paillard, the French Champagne producer.
"It is not the wine connoisseurs that get tricked because they know the difference, so our priority is to defend the average consumers," he told a news conference.
Officials in the Belgian port city of Antwerp discovered the shipment of sparkling wine bottles bearing the labels "California Champagne" and "Andre Champagne Cellars" destined for Nigeria. All 3,288 bottles were destroyed Tuesday, officials said.
Most countries around the world - including Nigeria - respect the rules granting exclusive use of the Champagne label to the French producers.
Sparkling wine makers in the U.S. are allowed to use the Champagne name as part of a compromise reached after years of trade negotiations with the E.U. However, they are not allowed to export it under that label to countries that recognize the E.U.'s protection system.
Belgium customs officials said the latest discovery was nothing new. Among previously seized shipments were bottles of "Shampagne" from Ethiopia and "Champana" from Argentina.
Officials from the Brussels-based World Customs Organization said the destruction would send a message that wrongly labeled goods would not be tolerated in Europe.
However, the E.U. acknowledged that some make it through to the European market. "The E.U. does not have enough people to check each grocery store to insure that each Champagne bottle is labeled correctly," said Michael Mann, E.U. agriculture spokesman.