The Story of Champagne by Nicholas Faith

Author:Nicholas Faith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Infinite Ideas
Published: 2016-09-06T04:00:00+00:00

Although the judge summed up in favour of the prosecution as far as he decently could, the jury clearly shared the trade’s view that Goliath was being rather beastly to David and found for Costa Brava on Christmas Eve 1958. The French were furious. They can never understand that British justice really does attempt to be impartial and independent and assumed that it was all a plot to sabotage the French – who had just helped form the European Economic Community. The French Embassy in London was so frightened of the row that it tried to persuade the Champenois to abandon the case, but they were not to be deterred.

The second legal battle started in November 1959 with a convoluted technical discussion on whether the concept of ‘passing-off’ was applicable. It was found to be. But in the main action, which started a year later, the Champenois had to prove, not only that the name was a false description, but also that damage had been done – that drinkers could be deceived into believing they were buying champagne. The defence naturally quoted the case of Spanish Sauternes and the like, and found Russian and even Persian champagne mentioned. Parallels were drawn between Cheddar cheese and champagne (which gave the judge an opening for a bon mot on how cheese seemed to be as different from wine as was chalk).

The Champenois’ lawyer, Geoffrey Lawrence QC, was a specialist in criminal law, but brilliantly turned the judge’s mind at a crucial moment described by Keeling:

The judge posed an imaginary situation where some ignorant person orders champagne, but says to the waiter that it is rather expensive. If, said the judge, the waiter then offered Perelada, would he not add, ‘but of course that is not French champagne’. This was the heart of the case and Mr Lawrence saw and took his chance. ‘My lord, if he said “not French champagne”, he would mean, “it is not French champagne it is Spanish champagne, but whether you have French champagne or Spanish it is still champagne.”’

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