The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), which represents Bordeaux-based wine producers, has won a case in China against wine counterfeiters selling fake editions of some of the regions most prized chateaux.
According to The Drinks Business, the CIVB targeted counterfeiters in Penglai, a town in China's main wine producing region in Shandong, which had been producing fake wines featuring Bordeaux and Médoc labels.
The CIVB has been active in applying for intellectual property rights for around 50 Bordeaux GI (Geographical Indication) chateaux since 2011, and this is the first such case taken against counterfeiters that are seeking to copy its wines.
Some Bordeaux houses operate production facilities in Shandong, including Domaines Barons de Rothschild, with the region looking to establish itself as a high-quality wine producer.
Enforcement Issues
“For us, it’s sending a strong signal, [that] in that area, the local authorities are serious about enforcement," Thomas Jullien, the CIVB's representative in China, told The Drinks Business.
"For us, it’s important, Penglai is an area that has ambition for wine production as well. In order to protect the Penglai name, they have to make sure they don’t have bad actors in that area."
As the first appellation case in China, the most recent case "sets a precedent", Julien told the publication.
The CIVB would not be drawn on the scale of the counterfeit wine problem in China, with Julien saying, "There is no official figure but an understanding that the issue needs to be addressed and for that specific resources are allocated."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
