http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/07/russia-adopts-law-that-shakes-cognac.html
In an unexpected mix of geopolitics and IP, Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed amendments to the Federal Law ‘On State Regulation of Production and Turnover of Alcoholic Products’. The amendments significantly affect the interests of Champagne and Cognac producers importing their products to Russia.
The new Law addresses two categories of products: a broader ‘sparkling wine’ for imported drinks on one side, and ‘Russian champagne’ (that is, made in Russia only), on the other. The Law further introduces the notion of ‘cognac of Russia’, ‘a cognac, which is completely (for 100 %) made of grapes, cultivated at the territory of the Russian Federation’. For the rest of ‘cognacs’, the Law also stipulates that, after a transition period of 7 years, the name ‘cognac’ will only be used for those products that are made from distillate produced in Russia. The amendments will enter into force on the date of their publication in the Official Journal.
A letter from the Russian ‘Moët Hennessy’ branch is circulating in the media, allegedly stating that the importation of the brand’s champagne will be put on hold until the producers decide whether they are ready to rebrand their champagne to ‘sparkling wine’ for the Russian market. Policy officials, contacted by Russian media, claim that champagne producers have misunderstood the new amendments and they will not be obliged to rebrand their products, when entering the Russian market. Surprisingly, the new requirements for cognac have not attracted any right holders’ attention so far and no official statements in this regard have been done by Russian officials.
In Russia, as well as in other countries of the Eastern European region, the protection of geographical indications was only introduced in early 1990s. During the Soviet time, consumers were used to product naming such as ‘Soviet Champagne’, ‘Armenian cognac’ or ‘Portwein’, without connecting them to any particular region [this Kat herself has only recently discovered that ‘Cahors’ stands for a region in Southern France, famous for its wine production].
Since then, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and more recently Armenia have all decided to rebrand certain local products, mostly cheeses and alcoholic drinks, as the consequence of their trade agreements with the European Union. In the meantime, Russia seems to be banking on the success of “Cognac of Russia”.
Update from July 4: Moët Hennessy has confirmed to Bloomberg that they will now add the ‘sparkling wine’ mention on their Champagne bottles for the Russian market.
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