We don’t mess with the name ‘Champagne’: A shipment of 2,352 US beer cans bearing the inscription “Champagne Beers” has been destroyed by customs in Belgium, as it constitutes a violation of the Protected Designation of Origin, Champagne, the commission representing French wine growers announced on Tuesday.
• Also read: Anheuser-Busch loses $5 billion after partnering with a transgender woman
The Miller Hi Life shipment was intercepted at the beginning of February in the port of Antwerp. Following this seizure by Belgian customs, the Champagne Commission — a professional organization that brings together Champagne wine houses and growers and one of its founding roles is to protect the Champagne label worldwide — “requested the destruction of illegal label goods,” he explained in a statement.
“The recipient of the goods has been informed in Germany and has not appealed this decision,” the Champagne Committee specified.
This destruction, which took place on Monday in Ypres, “was the result of a successful collaboration between the Belgian customs authorities and the services of the Champagne Commission.
It confirms the importance the European Union places on appellations of origin and rewards the determination of the people of Champagne to protect their appellations,” Charles Guimier, Director General of the Champagne Commission, welcomed in the press release.
