 Regulating Wine
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By Robin Garr
Generally speaking, I don't object to reasonable
efforts to regulate industry on behalf of consumers.
But a recent announcement from the U.S. Treasury Department's
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the agency charged
with overseeing wine labeling in the United States, seems to
represent the kind of regulatory thinking that brought us
auto-windshield shades imprinted with the warning "don't drive while
using this thing."
Apparently concerned that consumers might be confused, ATF has
declared it illegal to label a wine as "effervescent" ... if it
doesn't have bubbles.
"As you may be aware," the agency wrote in an April 5 statement,
federal regulation "prohibit any person from representing any still
wine as an effervescent wine, or as a substitute for an effervescent
wine."
This might seem to go without saying, but to ensure that there's
no misunderstanding, regulators have come up with a specific list of
terms that may not appear on still (non-sparkling) wines: Petillant,
Spumante, Perlant, Frizzante, Spritz/Spritzy, Bubble/Bubbly,
Sparkle/Sparkling, Tingle/Tingly, Cremant and Crackling, with a
marginal note warning, "This is not an all- inclusive list."
(This is actually a pretty good international glossary of terms
for wines with varying degrees of carbonation, although it was
somewhat flawed by the inclusion of "Reciotto," an apparently
mispelled variation on the Italian "Recioto," a word that has
absolutely nothing to do with sparkling wine. I've asked ATF for
clarification on this - if they respond to my E-mail, I'll pass it
along.)
Finally, the regulators point out that the term "lively," which
in the past was on the list of banned terms, is now permissible on
still-wine labels - subject to permission being given on a
case-by-case basis, "provided that it is not used in such a way that
it is likely to mislead consumers to believe that the wine is
effervescent."
I hope you are as reassured as I am to learn that the regulators
are watching out for our best interests.
If you would like to read the full text of the ATF news release,
it's online at
http://www.atf.treas.gov/press/industry/fy02/040502labelingupdate.htm
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