France's champagne producers say can suspend imports to Russia

PARIS, Jul 5 (PRIME) – French champagne imports to Russia may be suspended due to a new law obliging importers to label it as sparkling wine, Union des Maisons de Champagne CEO David Chatillon said on Monday.

"We think that this is unacceptable. This is appropriation of a word invented by producers in Champagne. They have been enriching it for 300 years. We cannot have any different approach. We can say only that this is unacceptable," Chatillon told PRIME.

The new law allows only champagne made in Russia to be labeled as champagne. After adoption of the law, Moet Hennessy said in a letter to the Russian partners that shipments to Russia will be suspended. The company later agreed to change the label, Bloomberg said.

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