I am a bit surprised that Steve did not call you on this, and maybe he still will. In the meantime, let me make a stab at the weakness in your argument.

It is very clear that the Champagne region and the producers there are working overtime to protect the Champgagne appellation. They do, of course, compete with each other on the basis of brand, and so do Mondavi, Beaulieu, Beringer among the big house brands and even Bond, Screaming Eagle, Colgin et al among the cults.

You miss the point that Steve is making. For the product from that region of France, being called Champagne is big-time and they know it. Everything else with bubbles in France, and indeed, in Europe, cannot even reference Methode Champenoise. That was why the Spanish gerrymandered the name Cava. It is meaning as an appellation but it has, they hope, value as a “branding” name.

I don’t see how a CA AVA can work for a type of wine. As to whether a category can be created similar to the made-up category of “Meritage” is a different question.

But, they can be no denying (this is not global warming, after all) that both the CHAMPAGNE name and the CAVA name are intended to as categorical brands that go beyond winery name.

This is why AVA and vintage do not matter, only THE BRAND matter.

If you worry about what AVA your Champagne comes from then you don’t have a palate worth catering too. AVA is a marketing tool for still wine, and BRANDING is how sparkling wines are sold.