Moet Hennessy Confirms Suspension of Champagne Deliveries to Russia Due to New Law

PARIS (Sputnik) - French alcoholic beverages producer Moet Hennessy suspends deliveries of champagne to Russia in connection with the new Russian law, the company's communications director Anne Catherine Grimal confirmed to Sputnik.

"Moet Hennessy Russia warned its partners about local legislative changes regarding the 'sparkling wine' labelling for bottles of champagne. These provisions lead to a temporary suspension of deliveries of products to assess the impact of this new law", Grimal said.

According to a copy of a letter seen by Sputnik, Moet Hennessy Distribution Rus, the Russian distributor of Moet Hennessy, informed its Russian partners that it was temporarily suspending shipments of a range of sparkling wines. According to the letter, the termination of the supply of sparkling wines is due to amendments to Federal law 171 "On the regulation of alcoholic beverages", adopted on Friday. The law clarifies definitions and introduces additional requirements for wine products. In particular, the law excludes the concept of "champagne", allowing it to be used only in relation to "Russian champagne" produced in Russia.

Champagne bottles at a Moscow supermarket

© Sputnik / Sergey Pyatakov

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Later, Bloomberg, citing a statement from the company, reported that Moet Hennessy had agreed to change the labeling from "champagne" to "sparkling wine" for products supplied to Russia.