DaleW wrote on Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:55:05 -0700 (PDT):

D> On Mar 18, 12:19�pm, "Raymond" > wrote:
??>> I'd come across several of them.
??>> Example:
??>> 1) Andre Pink Champagne California
??>> 2) Cook's Brut Champagne
??>> 3) Korbel Brut
??>> 4) Piper Sonoma Brut
??>> What's the latest wine law or agreement?
??>> Thanks
??>> Ray

D> I believe the ATF's successor (can't remember their
D> designation) allows grandfathered use of "semi-generic"
D> terms such as Champagne, Chablis, Chianti, etc domestically.
D> They are not supposed to be exported, and I believe a load
D> of Andre was dramatically destroyed in the EU last year.

D> Does Piper Sonoma really say Champagne? I'd be very
D> surprised. I thought the only holdouts were industrial crap
D> like Korbel, Cooks, Andre.

Cooks and Andre are Charmat (tank) process wines and indicate
that on the label but Korbel is fermented in the bottle and is
not bad at all, IMHO. It is a pity that no-one will risk a
public blind tasting like the "Judgment of Paris." The next best
thing was Consumer Reports tasting of California products where
the wines produced by French-owned companies came out at the
top.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not