Champagne body asks Delevingne sisters to remove word ‘Champagne’ from Prosecco advert

Champagne industry association Comité Champagne has sent a cease and desist letter to Della Vite Prosecco over its marketing slogan.

The vegan Prosecco brand, owned by the Delevingne sisters, Cara, Poppy and Chloe, has the tagline ‘cheat on Champagne’ and prominently differentiates itself from the French wine in its advertising and social media posts.

Comité Champagne wrote that it was “concerned” about the slogan’s use and asked Della Vite to “immediately stop any reference to the name ‘Champagne’”.

The Prosecco firm uploaded a redacted screenshot of the letter to its Instagram account, describing it as a “love letter from our friends at Champagne”, and added: “As Oscar Wilde once said, ‘The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about’. Salute!”

Poppy Delevingne commented on the post: “Can’t stop, won’t stop”.

Della Vite told The Caterer it will continue its advertising campaign. Head of marketing Izzy Maxwell said: “When we received the letter from the Champagne consortium, honestly the team’s first reaction was a real sense of achievement! The campaign was intended to be disruptive and turn heads, and it’s clearly made an impact. Because if the Champagne world is talking about us, it means we’re doing exactly what we set out to do."

She said the slogan is “bold” and “cheeky” and added: “We have nothing but respect for Champagne’s heritage – it’s the benchmark for excellence in sparkling wine. But the world has evolved and so has drinking culture. Since 2020, we’ve been on a mission to flip the prosecco category on its head with a liquid so good it rivals Champagne – bringing fresh energy into a category that’s long been ruled by tradition.”

Della Vite was founded in 2020 and offers white, rosé and non-alcoholic Prosecco, as well as ready-to-drink spritzes.

It is served in on-trade group venues including the Ivy Collection, Gusto Restaurants, Cosy Club Restaurants, Harbour Hotels and Oakman Inns.

Comité Champagne has been contacted for comment.

Champagne Bollinger’s UK distributor Mentzendorff & Co recently threatened English winemaker Folc with legal action following a social media advert that contained the tagline: “None of the same old Bollie … It’s not Champagne, it’s pink champers.”