Wine Industry Report

Consumers’ concern comes as second anniversary of bilateral Trade Agreement brings no new action.

A national survey reveals that a vast majority of U.S. wine purchasers strongly supports truth-in-labeling. Overall, those polled believe that the specific place name of a wine region should only appear on a bottle’s label if the wine is produced in that location.

The poll, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, found that:

— 79% agree that consumers deserve protection from deceptive claims on
food and beverage labels.

— 63% support a law prohibiting misleading labels because they believe it is the best way to protect the names of wine regions around the world, including domestic names such as Napa Valley and Sonoma County.

— 69% of wine consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 - the fastest growing segment of the U.S. wine market - consider truth-in-labeling a strong reason to support a law prohibiting misleading labels.

“As the global market is moving towards greater protection of the names of all agricultural products, including wine, U.S. laws and regulations are clearly out of sync with the consumers they aim to protect,” said Center for Wine Origins Director Shannon Hunt. “The results of this poll show that American wine drinkers increasingly reject the practice of purposeful mislabeling by some U.S. wine producers.”

As part of the U.S.-EU Wine Accord signed in March 2006, a ban was put in place against the introduction into the American marketplace of new labels using any of 17 place names - including Champagne, Port and Sherry - unless the wines are produced in those regions. Since then, the second round of Wine Accord talks has begun. However, no progress has been made in ending the misleading labeling practices of many brands currently on the
market. Today, the percent of potentially misleading wine labels still on wine store shelves is vast. In the case of Champagne, for example, almost half of the bottles labeled “Champagne” are indeed not from Champagne at all.

The results of this poll come on the heels of many other efforts to protect wine place names over the last two years. Napa Valley took a case all the way to the Supreme Court to successfully protect their name. Similarly, Sonoma County enacted legislation with the help of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California General Assembly to protect their name from misuse. Even in Europe, efforts have been strengthened to better
protect American wine place names. In May 2007, Napa Valley became the first U.S. wine region to be granted Geographic Indication (GI) status by the European Union.

“Truth-in-labeling is a simple principle wrapped in Americana. Because location is one of the most important influences on wine, a place name on a bottle’s label should be reserved exclusively to the region that produces the wine. Anything else is contrary to our country’s tradition oftruth-in-labeling and consumer protection,” said Office of Champagne, USA Director Sharon Castillo.

The survey is part of an ongoing, three-year, national campaign to create awareness of the importance of location to winemaking and provide consumers resources to make informed decisions when purchasing wine. The national poll of 654 wine purchasers, commissioned by the Center for Wine Origins and Office of Champagne, USA, was conducted by Peter D. Hart
Research Associates from November 8th to 18th, 2007. The margin of error is ± 3.9.

[SOURCE Center for Wine Origins¹; Office of Champagne, USA² ]

1. The Center for Wine Origins was established in 2005 to promote the importance of location and better protect geographic names in the U.S. market. The Center is headquartered in Washington, DC and is involved in a wide array of activities aimed at educating consumers, policymakers and the media about the importance of wine origins and providing better resources for consumers to make informed choices. The wine-making regions involved in the campaign are regulated by the European system of Appellations, designed to ensure authenticity and quality for consumers. [↩]
2. Office of Champagne, USA is the official U.S. representative of the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), a trade association which represents the grape growers and houses of Champagne, France. The Office works to educate U.S. consumers about the uniqueness of the wines of Champagne and expand their understanding of the need to protect the Champagne name. For more information, visit online at http://www.champagne.us. [↩]