GOVERNMENT PROPOSES “MISLEADING” WINE LABELS
A government proposal that would require wineries to list allergens on wine labels has much of the industry up in arms.
Vintners often use byproducts from milk, eggs, wheat and fish to serve as a fining agent to remove grit from wine – a reality that would sound rather unpleasant to America’s fickle consumer. The proposal, which could be passed by the end of the year according to the Associated Press, would require companies to redesign the labels on every bottle to protect people who are allergic to certain foods.
Executives at Sonoma and Napa county wineries and trade groups are banding together in hopes to prevent the proposal from ever passing. They claim that few, if any, wine drinkers have experienced allergic reactions from fining agents, which are “nearly untraceable” by the time the consumer gets the bottle.
Furthermore, industry member say the labels are misleading because the wine does not actually contain milk or fish membranes. Wine-producers use a milk protein called casein, and a substance, called isinglass, found in the inner membrane of a certain fish. The binding agents cause the larger molecules to sink to the bottom of the wine barrel, leaving all the wine above clean.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is expected to publish a final rule on the issue by late 2007.
Vintners often use byproducts from milk, eggs, wheat and fish to serve as a fining agent to remove grit from wine – a reality that would sound rather unpleasant to America’s fickle consumer. The proposal, which could be passed by the end of the year according to the Associated Press, would require companies to redesign the labels on every bottle to protect people who are allergic to certain foods.
Executives at Sonoma and Napa county wineries and trade groups are banding together in hopes to prevent the proposal from ever passing. They claim that few, if any, wine drinkers have experienced allergic reactions from fining agents, which are “nearly untraceable” by the time the consumer gets the bottle.
Furthermore, industry member say the labels are misleading because the wine does not actually contain milk or fish membranes. Wine-producers use a milk protein called casein, and a substance, called isinglass, found in the inner membrane of a certain fish. The binding agents cause the larger molecules to sink to the bottom of the wine barrel, leaving all the wine above clean.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is expected to publish a final rule on the issue by late 2007.
posted at 1:55 PM
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