Champagne house threatens to sue UK firm for naming sparkling wine ‘Crystal’

Cristal champagne is probably Louis Roederer’s most famous cuvee thanks in part to it being namechecked in hip-hop songs in the noughties. Photograph: The Washington Post/Washington Post/Getty Images

It has been namechecked by Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Lana Del Rey but the owner of the Cristal champagne brand has issued a legal letter after a small London firm picked a similar moniker for one of its wines.

Renegade Urban Winery, which is based on an industrial estate in Walthamstow, east London, said it had been contacted by representatives of the champagne-maker Louis Roederer who claimed that the UK producer’s use of the name Crystal on a pink sparkling wine infringes the French firm’s Cristal brand.