Champagne headache

A BUDGeT champagne sorbet looks to have landed Aldi with a nasty five-year hangover.

The German discounter has incurred the wrath of France’s champagne region for taking the name of champagne in vain.

It landed the group in a fiveyear legal dispute that only now looks to be coming to a head.

The ‘Champagner sorbet’ dessert contained 12pc bubbly and featured a picture of a champagne bottle and flute.

As a result the French appealed to eU judges to protect it, and have accused the German group of demeaning their fiercely pro- tected product. The battle has made it all the way to Germany’s Federal Court. Now eU Court of Justice advocate-general Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona says Aldi may have been trying to hijack the drink’s good name.

Champagne is made only from grapes grown and harvested in the Champagne area of France.

Sanchez- Bordona said: ‘ By their use and the name ‘Champagner Sorbet’ the producer and the distributor wants to bring to the consumer’s mind the quality and the prestige associated with this protected label, and extend it to the sorbet.’