Product news


‘We’re not passing off as Cristal’: winemaker faces legal challenge from Champagne house


By Victoria Miller


A small London winery has defended its position after being threatened with legal action by French Champagne house Louis Roederer for naming one of its wines ‘Crystal’. Renegade Urban Winery, which


is based in Walthamstow, received a letter from lawyers for Louis Roederer, who said the name was too similar to its leading Cham- pagne, ‘Cristal’. The letter, dated 29 September


2023, accused Renegade of “pass- ing off” its Crystal wine and said the product name and branding was “highly similar, if not identi- cal” to the Champagne product. It demanded Renegade cease mar- keting and selling its Crystal wine immediately and requested it aban- don use of the name in the future. The letter was sent by Louis


Roederer’s representatives at Lane IP, a law firm specialising in trade- marks, copyright, designs, patents and domain names. It was origi- nally sent to Renegade’s wine bar


pass ourselves off as Cristal,” he added. “The irony is that the whole


thing about my brand is we don’t make copycat wines; we try to create unique styles that are com- pletely different.” Smith responded to the letter


on 25 October and Louis Roeder- er’s lawyers Lane IP replied on 27 October, stating they will revert to their client for further instruction. Smith said: “Well done [to


Louis Roederer] for building such a fantastically famous and well- regarded Champagne brand, but I just don’t think we’re copying them or infringing on their trade- mark or brand in any way. “I was even thinking, if they


Renegade Urban Winery is based in Walthamstow, north east London


in Bethnal Green but came to the attention of Renegade’s founder Warwick Smith almost a month later when, on 23 October, he received an email from the law firm alerting him to its client’s claims. Speaking to The Caterer, Smith


said Renegade’s ‘Crystal’ wine was “completely different” to Louis Roederer’s ‘Cristal’ Cham- pagne and the grapes, look, taste, colour and price point were not similar “in any way”. “We’re certainly not trying to


want to sell us some grapes, we could make a little collab together. That could be fun.” Renegade, which launched in


2016, produces around 70,000 bot- tles a year and sells its wines to 60 restaurants across the UK. Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 and creates up to 400,000 bottles a year with clients ranging from royalty to music stars.


Wildfarmed strikes deal to supply flour to Franco Manca Louis Roederer and Lane IP


have been contacted for comment. Regenerative food and farming business Wildfarmed has struck a deal with high street pizza chain Franco Manca to stock its flour across the group’s portfolio. The partnership will see Wild-


farmed’s flour used in all Franco Manca’s sourdough products across its 69 restaurants. Franco Manca sells more than 5.5 million pizzas every year, equating to over 1,000 tonnes of flour. Other high street brands which


use Wildfarmed products include Zizzi and ASK Italian, where its regeneratively farmed flour is used to produce its campanelle pasta and ciabatta respectively. Wildfarmed was founded in


2019 by farmer and Grammy-nom- inated musician Andy Cato, televi- sion presenter George Lamb and Edd Lees. It practises regenerative farming, which aims to increase biodiversity and improve the soil’s


productivity after every harvest. Lees said the business’s mis-


Wildfarmed’s flour will be used in all of Franco Manca’s sourdough products, from pizza to garlic bread He added: “Working with


sion was to “transform landscapes” by turning “silent dead zones” into fertile farming land which sup- ports the area’s biodiversity.


products@thecaterer.com


Franco Manca marks a real mile- stone for Wildfarmed. Being able to bring regeneratively grown wheat to the masses, without the use of pesticides, herbicides or


fungicides, is not only better for the planet but it also tastes great.” Ahmos Wasif, head of food


at Franco Manca, said the chain “could not pass up the opportu- nity” to work with the producer,


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