Champagne

European Union

EU bursts bubble of Spain's 'champanillo' tapas bars with new brand protection for French champagne

The EU's top court on Thursday boosted Champagne makers in their fight to get Spanish tapas bars to drop the term "champanillo" by reenforcing legal protections on "both products and services" from specific regions.

feature

Tapas bars in Spain could put cork in France's Champagne name challenge

Tapas bars in Barcelona called 'champanillos' could see off a legal challenge from France's Champagne region if the European Court of Justice follows a legal opinion published on Thursday.

Wine

Spanish fizzy pop trumps French Champagne in court

Spain’s supreme court has thrown out a claim by the Champagne industry that a Spanish soft drink is too similar to the famous French bubbly.

Food and Drink

Battle of the fizz: Cava takes on champagne

After decades of rising exports, producers of Catalan cava are brimming with confidence and have their eyes set on taking on the "king" of sparkling wine - French champagne.