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Wine Label Larceny
By Robert Farmer
If your New Year’s Resolution included being more
conscientious about what you eat and drink, then the addition of nutritional
information to wine labels might strike you as a good thing. For those in the
wine industry, however, the proposal is something less helpful.
As has been much in the wine-industry news lately, the Oregon State Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has proposed a requirement that winemakers there list nutritional information on their wine bottle labels. Now, you may be saying to yourself… What!? Because, like many people I know and with whom I have discussed this notion, the idea seems superfluous at best, idiotic at worst. And as we know when it comes to all things state-related, one state’s law can soon impact the nation. So it’s not surprising the Oregon winemakers have been digging in their heels in opposition to this. You should be too.
The proposal presents a number of problems, both logistical and philosophical. From the former, it’s not easy for winemakers to list the ingredients that go into their wines – it’s an ever-changing array of components added with the temperament and nuance of an individual and generally with little consequence to the wine drinker other than a resulting product that they enjoy. Nutritionally? If you’re that worried about what nutrition you’re getting from your wine, I’m afraid you’ve got bigger problems than can be solved on a wine label.
And, speaking of the label, the ones that already have government-mandated copy publicizing alcohol content and the dangers thereof (which I agree isn’t a bad idea), it’s also the space that the winemaker relies on for telling the particular wine story – not to mention for grabbing the attention of the wine-buying public from its position on store shelves.
So, in other words, there are many reasons why this is a bad idea. For Oregon’s sake and for overall wine-drinking sanity, let’s hope this particular label idea doesn’t stick.
If your New Year’s Resolution included being more
conscientious about what you eat and drink, then the addition of nutritional
information to wine labels might strike you as a good thing. For those in the
wine industry, however, the proposal is something less helpful. As has been much in the wine-industry news lately, the Oregon State Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has proposed a requirement that winemakers there list nutritional information on their wine bottle labels. Now, you may be saying to yourself… What!? Because, like many people I know and with whom I have discussed this notion, the idea seems superfluous at best, idiotic at worst. And as we know when it comes to all things state-related, one state’s law can soon impact the nation. So it’s not surprising the Oregon winemakers have been digging in their heels in opposition to this. You should be too.
The proposal presents a number of problems, both logistical and philosophical. From the former, it’s not easy for winemakers to list the ingredients that go into their wines – it’s an ever-changing array of components added with the temperament and nuance of an individual and generally with little consequence to the wine drinker other than a resulting product that they enjoy. Nutritionally? If you’re that worried about what nutrition you’re getting from your wine, I’m afraid you’ve got bigger problems than can be solved on a wine label.
And, speaking of the label, the ones that already have government-mandated copy publicizing alcohol content and the dangers thereof (which I agree isn’t a bad idea), it’s also the space that the winemaker relies on for telling the particular wine story – not to mention for grabbing the attention of the wine-buying public from its position on store shelves.
So, in other words, there are many reasons why this is a bad idea. For Oregon’s sake and for overall wine-drinking sanity, let’s hope this particular label idea doesn’t stick.
Author
WineCountry Admin
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