wtfWineandBeer

Sparkling wine will no longer be called Champagne in Russia. The singer Adele turned down a glass of Champagne on her birthday while this weekend Russian sparkling wine producers, after a historic agreement, have agreed to stop using the “Shampanskoye” name on labels. Read more to find out why…

A much younger Archbishop Sergi Chekurishvili of Nekresi proudly displaying the entire 2010 harvest of Aligoté grapes from the wine region of Kakheti, Russia.

A thrilled Archbishop Sergi Chekurishvili of Nekresi after being awarded the Masi International Wine Prize for his support of the Russian Winegrower and Winemaker Union and the country’s beleagured winemakers.

Archbishop Sergi Chekurishvili of Nekresi modelling as Bacchus (God of Wine) for Peter Paul Ruben’s Bacchus, 1638-40. Why is the putto (in the lower left of the painting) the urinating on the Archbishop’s foot, WTF? My answer: “peeing on the ‘Old Believers’”!

Members of the Russian Winegrower and Winemaker Union met at the Abrau-Durso winery in the country’s Krasnodar region near the Black Sea coast; they agreed in principle to outlaw the “Sovetskoye Shampanskoye” (Soviet Champagne) trademark, without fixing a timescale for the ban.

Archbishop Sergi Chekurishvili of Nekresi suited up and climbing to the first mountain plateau to check the brix (sugar) level of his private Clairette vineyard in Krasnodar during late summer.

This startling fact means that Russian winemakers have agreed to stop labeling their sparkling wine with the term “Champagne,” which actually gives applause to the northern France AOC named Champagne; however, they have not decided when to stop the labeling.

Since Stalin established the ‘Sovetskoye Shampanskoye” label, I assume France will have to assist in defeating another Communist Leader in order to protect its illustrious Champagne region. Perhaps Putin?

The ban is also linked to Russia’s own plans for a system of regional appellations, or defined grape-growing regions of distinction, which were also discussed at the weekend. “Everyone understands that if we want to introduce appellations in Russia, we have to respect others,” said Boris Titov, Director of Abrau-Durso Winery. I am sure that the people of Northern Caucasus, Georgia, South Ossetia, and Chechnya would agree if ungagged.

Abrau-Durso sparkling wine.

Please visit On Reserve: Wine Law for a full report or follow them on twitter: @OnReserve.

If Adele will not drink Russian Champagne

then neither should you: