Salut/Hi Dana Myers,

le/on Sat, 25 Oct 2003 20:54:25 -0700, tu disais/you said:-

>Consumers that give a sh*t understand the difference
>between "champagne" from California and Champagne.

That's probab ly true, yes.

> Other consumers don't matter (they don't care... they just don't
>know the difference and don't care anyway).

I'm sorry, Dana, I find that a little arrogant towards the millions of
people who buy "champagne" in those countries which allow their local
sparklers to be called that, and all similar attempts to pass off local
products using prestigious names from elsewhere. It's not JUST dishonest
vis-a-vis the people in the areas whose product names are being usurped, but
worse, it's fraud against the consumer. As you say, they may well not know
the difference, or that "Tokay d'Alsace" or "Tokay" from Rutherglen are
attempts to pass off their products (decent enough to stand on their own
names) as "the real thing".

>buy much French wine. If worrying about your name
>is a big deal, I'm not interesting in your wine. The
>reasons should be obvious.

They aren't. Not to me anyway. Passing off is passing off whether it's "Feta
cheese" or "Tokay" or "Parma ham" from France or "Champagne" from the USA or
Australia or "Blue Mountain Coffee" from Sumatra. It cheats both the
producer and the consumer. And saying that because the consumer is not yet
knowledgeable enough to know, s/he doesn't matter, is as arrogant and
dishonest as anything I've read recently. Sorry, but that's how I see it.

Ignorance can be cured by knowledge. An ignorant consumer (I have lots of
visitors who are ignorant about wine here) can usually tell the difference
when they get a chance to taste one wine against the other. As to which they
will prefer, that's another matter. But I CANNOT accept that it right that
laws don't forbid producers/ entrepreneurs/importers from passsing off, no
matter how long the fraud has been going on. This isn't in any sense to be
taken as anti-American, because I feel JUST as strongly about French and
British passing off. More so in fact, as these countries take a strong
stance against it when it is their products whose names are being misused.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare

Sometimes oi just sits and thinks
Sometimes oi just sits.