I have just read an article which has left me a bit nonplussed, about a fight between the mighty Veuve Clicquot, and a small Italian sparkling wine producer – a real David and Goliath battle. And the reason for this fight? The colour of their label! Apparently, it would appear, that Veuve Clicquot have now laid claim to wine labels using every shade of yellow! If you look at the picture you will see what I mean. Maybe I’m going colour blind, but they really don’t look the same to me…. The Veuve Clicquot label is described as a yellow-orange shade which corresponds to the colour Pantone 137C, and has been registered as a European Trade Mark. So, effectively, this has now lead to the LVMH group (owners of Veuve Cliquot) focusing their considerable wealth and resources onto this small Italian winery. Ciro Picariello, a family owned producer in Campania, makes only 3,500 bottles of this wine, and so it would appear that LVMH may have lost a bit of perspective (and perhaps their sense of decency) in this particular instance.

Having said that, I can completely empathise with the Italians, as only a few years ago Bodegas Castro Martin lost a similar battle with the mega-rich French mineral water producer Evian. We had legally registered a wine brand called Avian (relating to birds, not water), but the huge French conglomerate Danone took exception, and eventually simply out-muscled us into dropping the name. It was hardly a level playing field, so I know exactly how these poor Italians must be feeling. 

I have just read an article which has left me a bit nonplussed, about a fight between the mighty Veuve Clicquot, and a small Italian sparkling wine producer – a real David and Goliath battle. And the reason for this fight? The colour of their label! Apparently, it would appear, that Veuve Clicquot have now laid claim to wine labels using every shade of yellow! If you look at the picture you will see what I mean. Maybe I’m going colour blind, but they really don’t look the same to me…. The Veuve Clicquot label is described as a yellow-orange shade which corresponds to the colour Pantone 137C, and has been registered as a European Trade Mark. So, effectively, this has now lead to the LVMH group (owners of Veuve Cliquot) focusing their considerable wealth and resources onto this small Italian winery. Ciro Picariello, a family owned producer in Campania, makes only 3,500 bottles of this wine, and so it would appear that LVMH may have lost a bit of perspective (and perhaps their sense of decency) in this particular instance.

Having said that, I can completely empathise with the Italians, as only a few years ago Bodegas Castro Martin lost a similar battle with the mega-rich French mineral water producer Evian. We had legally registered a wine brand called Avian (relating to birds, not water), but the huge French conglomerate Danone took exception, and eventually simply out-muscled us into dropping the name. It was hardly a level playing field, so I know exactly how these poor Italians must be feeling.