The word Champagne, legally, is capitalized because it’s a placename—the famed sparkling wine comes from that small region north of Paris. This is an example of why place-named products are unique and often lead to laws protecting their names and reputations. France, home to the world’s most important wine culture for hundreds of years, has dozens of placenames today that are supported by laws it sees as essential to protecting areas that are de facto brands. As a result, many of its regional names such as Chablis, Sancerre, and Beaujolais cannot be used on wines made by anyone outside these districts. When a European wine region’s name (i.e., Chianti in Italy) is synonymous with one wine type that’s permitted to use that designation, the name of the primary grape (such as sangiovese) does not need to be identified. It isn’t legal to make Chianti without it. One reason for these …