Icy Cold Bubbles For The New Year

We know that champagne growers are (rightly) proud of their sparkling wine. Nothing gets their hackles up more than when some "fizz" is produced from a region other than Champagne, or in a different way. After all, it’s with good reason that they got the name Champagne covered by a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Aldi came up with a festive novelty in 2012: the supermarket chain started marketing a frozen sorbet containing 12% real Champagne. The Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne immediately raised court action to challenge this in the German courts. Aldi was alleged to be profiting from the good reputation of the Champagne name for its product. A few years on and the Court of Justice has had its say: can the Comité object to the use of name "Champagner Sorbet" when the product actually contains Champagne that complies fully with the PDO requirements? The Court of Justice had indicated that the use of a PDO in this way virtually amounts to exploiting