Champagne can only be called Champagne if it comes from the region of Champagne in France, at least this is what the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin du Champagne (CIVC) has been pushing since its origins in 1941.
Australia, being a new-world wine country, is quite different when it comes to labelling our wines in comparison to our old-world friends in Europe. We are used to buying wines where the main identification is the type of grape however over in Europe this is not the case.
Europeans have had plenty of time to figure out what grapes grow better in which locations, they have then used this information to regulate the labeling of wine based on its region rather than grape, this stems heavily from the concept of terroir which is a whole article in itself. This geographic labeling is strictly enforced by European union regulations which states that in order to be a quality wine it must come from a specified region and be associated with geographical indication.
These EU regulations are not avoidable outside of Europe and violating this may end up in a hefty legal battle, the CIVC for instance has gone so far as to threaten Apple with a lawsuit for labelling the colour of their iPhone as Champagne.
These regulations are arguably archaic however they also help to preserve the quality of wines and give you piece of mind when you buy a bottle or glass, it would be rather unpleasant to order a Bordeaux and find it came from a cask, produced by a corporation whose goal is to make profits not quality wines.
So next time you order Champagne please be specific, I would hate to serve you the wrong wine and more importantly I can’t afford to be sued by the CIVC.