According to Decanter, a French court ruled that articles on wine in newspapers should carry the same health warnings as you would see on bottles and in advertising. From Decanter:-'Any communication in favour of an alcoholic drink, such as a series of articles in favour of Champagne, constitutes advertising and is therefore subject to the public health code,'
The court said that the article was 'intended to promote sales of alcoholic beverages in exercising a psychological effect on the reader that incited him or her to buy alcohol'
French wine is already at a disadvantage on the world market (of course I am ignoring the 0.001% of the worlds wine that is the 1st Growth Bordeaux or Grand Cru Burgundy). Their wine labeling laws even prevent winemakers from specifically naming what grapes make up their wine (educated wine consumers may know that Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wines are a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre but does 99% of the wine drinking public know that?) unless they are willing to call their wine "vin de pays" (table wine) with all of the negative connotations that have always been associated with it.
No wonder Australian brands like Yellow Tail have beaten the French into submission on the world stage!
1 comment:
These wine labels are a big waste of money. As if anyone reads the label and say thats it no more wine for me. Or says wow I remember reading that wine impairs my ability to drive good thing I read the label. Just another government imposed cost that raises the price of our wine without doing a darn thing! Those are some great choices you list in your of choice column!
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