The short and simple answer to your question is that restrictions on labelling sparkling wine as “Champagne” or whiskies as “Bourbon” or “Scotch” stem from a complicated web of global intellectual property laws, trade agreements, agricultural policies, and consumer protection regulations. Many of these designations are held as trademarks (often held by associations which establish quality standards for producers) and their use is enforced in line with international intellectual property laws.

But last I checked, this is r/askhistorians and nobody comes to r/askhistorians for short and simple answers. So, let’s sit down, grab a glass of Champagne, bourbon, some Kölsch beer, or if you’re a non-drinker, a cup of Colombian coffee or a glass of Florida orange juice, and dive right in.

…if it’s not produced in the Champagne region of France…

Let’s focus on Champagne, since not only is it one of the most prominent protected geographical indicators, but it has also been the subject of tons of lawsuits, both inside European and around the world. In the late 19th Century, the French wine industry was recovering from the devastating impacts of the Phylloxera blight. This decimated wine yields in France and elsewhere in Europe and sent the French wine industry into freefall. Many fraudulent wine producers began to peddle their wares in the French market. Some even produced wine without using grapes! Beginning in 1889, the French government stepped in, passing the Loi de Griffe to combat fraud and counterfeiting within the domestic wine industry. While this legislation was effective in beating less-sophisticated fraudsters, it was still easy to produce wine in one region of France and pass it off as wine produced in another. To combat this, laws were passed in 1905 that criminalized misrepresenting a product’s region of origin. In 1908, further protections were introduced into law, allowing the French government to designate wine appellations based on geographic regions. The first region to be designated as such? You guessed it: Champagne.

Over the next 28 years, laws governing wine production would be strengthened, not only to guarantee the quality of wine but also the production techniques used when making them. In 1919, the law was amended to establish geographic origins as intellectual property, and in 1935, the establishment of Appellations d’Origine Controlee (or AOC), created a special category of wines. Champagne, of course, was one of the first wines to receive the AOC designation.

…it’s just sparkling wine.

The late 19th Century also saw an explosion of global trade. Much like today, merchants would use a product’s origins to indicate quality. Of course, this had its pitfalls; an unscrupulous merchant could misrepresent the origins of his wares, deceiving his customers and harming the reputation of goods actually produced in that country or region of origin. While the treaties establishing bilateral relationships between many countries included provisions restricting the misuse of origin labels, many of these provisions were ineffective in an increasingly globalized marketplace. Efforts to address these intellectual property issues began at the 1873 World’s Fair, held in Vienna. During the fair, a summit was held to discuss the multilateral steps that could be taken to combat international counterfeiting and patent violations. Ten years later, 11 countries agreed to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, one of the first international intellectual property treaties. That treaty is still in effect today, and 177 countries are currently party to the treaty. While the Paris Convention did a lot to harmonize and strengthen intellectual property protections worldwide, at the time of its signing and ratification, it did not include provisions restricting representations of a product’s origin. Eight years later, signatories agreed to the Madrid Agreement on the Repression of False or Deceptive Indicators of Source, which established specific legal instruments to combat misrepresenting the sources or origins of products. Parties also agreed to a convention on the international registration of protected trademarks, including markings that indicated geographic origins of products. Geographic Indicators were further recognized in the TRIPS Agreement of 1996, a comprehensive intellectual property treaty proposed by the World Trade Organization and ratified by 158 countries.

Anyone for some prosciutto? Or Parmesan cheese?

While you initially mentioned a few selected alcoholic beverages, other food items have protected geographic indicators attached to them as well. In a communication to the European Parliament on the future of rural society in the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Commission proposed adopting an EEC-wide standard for labeling geographic origin in a communication to the European Parliament, to strengthen small rural farmers and producers. Although such standards existed for wines, the communication cited a need for similar label standards for food products as well. In 1992, the Council passed two regulations established Protected Designation of Origin, Protected Geographic Indicator, and Tradition Specialty Guaranteed labels to recognize food products that play an important role in an EU Member State’s culinary heritage. Under this scheme, foods like Prosciutto di Parma, Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese, Kölsch and Munich beer, and Neopolitan pizza are all protected, and cannot be marketed as such unless they meet the requirements specified in their respective geographic indicator.

Sources:

Bruch, Kelly. 2012. Review of The Historical Way Protection of Foreign Geographical Indications in Brazil: The Case of “Champagne.” Rivista Di Diritto Alimentare 6 (2).

De La Guardia , Miguel, and Gonzálvez,Ana. 2013. Food Protected Designation of Origin : Methodologies and Applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

European Commission. The Future of Rural Society: Commission communication transmitted to the Council and to the · European Parliament on 29 July 1988. Bulletin of the European Communities Supplement 4/88.

Jay, Tim, and Taylor, Madeline. A Case of Champagne: A Study of Geographical Indications. Bond University Corporate Governance eJournal 7/15/2013

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