All champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne, as any connoisseur will tell you. That hasn’t stopped a trio of socialite sisters’ provocative attempts to market their own fizz and perhaps bring down the famous tipple a notch or two.
The champagne industry body has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Della Vite Prosecco, founded by the celebrity sisters Cara, Poppy and Chloe Delevingne, over their marketing campaign for their vegan prosecco, which it claims is “exploiting” the reputation of champagne.
Della Vite launched its campaign this year, including a pop-up stand at Heathrow airport in April that contained the slogan “Cheat on champagne”.
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In June the brand received a letter from the Comité Champagne, which describes itself as “defending the joint interests of champagne houses and growers”, demanding they stop making reference to champagne in their marketing.
The sisters refused to back down and the brand has continued it campaign. Della Vite has even embraced the letter in its marketing, sharing a redacted image of it on social media on Wednesday.
The caption read: “Love letter from our friends at Champagne. As Oscar Wilde once said, ‘The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.’ Salute!”
Poppy Delevingne, 39, an actress and model, told The Times that the campaign was meant to be “fun, cheeky and a little provocative” and they “genuinely didn’t think we’d done anything wrong”.
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She added: “The severity of the response was unexpected, but we were also pleased to see the campaign making an impact and getting noticed.”
In the letter, which has been seen by The Times, the Comité Champagne wrote: “Any use of the internationally renowned name ‘champagne’ other than in reference to the sparkling wines entitled to this appellation constitutes an unfair exploitation of its reputation.
“Moreover, such misuse risks tarnishing the name and damaging the goodwill associated with the champagne destination.”
Della Vite posted several advertisements referring to champagne
DELLA VITE
The Comité Champagne website states that many competitors “try to take unfair advantage” of champagne’s reputation and image because there is “such prestige” surrounding its name. Any “unfair use that trades off the reputation of champagne is banned”, it adds.
Numa Heathcote, chief executive and co-founder of Della Vite, said: “We see this reaction as proof that modern challenger sparkling brands are reshaping the conversation around quality. If the established champagne world feels a little unsettled, it’s because a new generation of drinkers is defining luxury on its own terms and brands like Della Vite are part of that shift.”
On the brand’s decision to respond on social media, Heathcote said: “We decided to post because the attention confirmed that our message was landing. Della Vite has always celebrated confidence and originality, so staying silent didn’t feel true to who we are. We saw an opportunity to turn a serious letter into something our audience could smile about.”
Izzy Maxwell, the head of marketing, said: “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.
“Younger consumers today want sophisticated fun without the snobbery — accessible luxury and exceptional quality. Della Vite is a modern prosecco brand on a mission to break away from the tired and traditional rules of champagne. We exist for the new generation of drinkers who crave celebration that feels free-spirited, inclusive and joyful — a serious liquid that doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
Poppy Delevingne, right, said she and her sisters wanted to fill “a huge gap in the market for a really good prosecco”
DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES FOR DELLA VITE ZERO
The English wine brand Folc was threatened with legal action by the French champagne house Bollinger last week over its use of the word “Bollie” in an advert.
Folc, which has six staff, received a cease-and-desist letter after running a tongue-in-cheek social media advert that read: “None of the same old Bollie … It’s not champagne, it’s pink champers.” Bollinger accused the sparkling rosé makers of taking “unfair advantage” of their reputation.
Della Vite was founded by the Delevingne sisters in 2020. Their vegan prosecco is made in collaboration with a family of third-generation winemakers in the Unesco-listed region of Valdobbiadene in northern Italy, the heart of prosecco production.
The sisters aim to achieve what Whispering Angel did for the popularity of rosé. Poppy Delevingne said: “We thought there was a huge gap in the market for a really good prosecco. There are so many bad ones out there that have given prosecco quite a bad reputation as they’ve been made so cheaply.”
The brand has already secured listings with Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Ocado and Selfridges. Della Vite sells prosecco, sparkling rosé, a non-alcoholic sparkling rosé and a range of spritzes.
The Comité Champagne was approached for comment.