European Union decision to authorise their US rivals to use the term 'chateau' on bottles sold in Europe would amount to cheating consumers was warned by Bordeaux wine producers.

Agriculture officials from the bloc's 27 member states were due to meet in Brussels Tuesday to consider a change to the rule requested by Washington as part of broader trade negotiations but no vote will now be taken.
"After all, there will not be a vote Tuesday and the discussions will continue," a European source told AFP.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, has recommended granting the US request and French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll admitted in Brussels on Monday that Paris was likely to find itself outvoted.
"France is particularly attached to the denomination 'chateau' which has a special meaning for us in terms of wine, but other countries are much less so," Le Foll acknowledged. "We are in difficult talks."
The issue is particularly sensitive in Bordeaux, where the term chateau is virtually synonymous with wine-producing estates, with even those that have no buildings vaguely resembling a chateau, which can be translated as castle or manor house, using it on their labels.
Advertisement
"It would be a great shame if this principle was given up as part of other trade negotiations."
Advertisement