In this century there have been two distinct moves which have led to more detail appearing on the label. The steady growth in wine consumption, especially in countries without a long wine tradition, has led to the consumer wanting to know more and more about what he or she is drinking. In the United States, for example, this has led to a small essay often appearing on the back label with a full description of the wine, its vintaging, its ageing and bottling, frequently going and quite technical details.
In paralel with this the inreasing complexity of the trade has led to moves towards protection both of the consumer and the producer. In the world of wine, this has meant that the label on a bottle of wine now gives certain guarantees. It is, you like, a birth certificate, an identity card, and a travel document as well as a letter of introduction.
This chapter is concerned with the legal aspects of labelling. As far as the Uk is concerned, both national and supra-national (European Community) legislation applies.
European Community law exists in many forms. The provisions governing labelling are mostly contained in EC Regulations, which are translated into all the principal EC languages and published in EC national laws covering the same areas. European Community law will ultimately apply to all alcoholic beverages but where it has yet to be promulated English law reamins in force.
While there are separate legal systems in England and Wales, Scotland Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, as far as labelling in concerned what pertains in England may be taken as the norm.
Until European Community regulations are brought into force for all alcoholic drinks, the bodies of law controlling the various categories are as follows:
Still light wines-EC laws totally
Sparkling wines-EC laws totally
Liquer wines-EC principle, English detail
Aromatised wines-EC principal, English detail
Spirits-EC priciple, english detail
Other alcoholic beverages-English law
European Community regulations covering, both spirits and liqueur wines have been published but at present these only outline the general principles. Until the detail has been published in the form of regulations, English law applies but it has been altered in order to comply with current EC directives.
Liqueur wine is the legally correct term for those wines to which extra alcohol in the form of grape spirit has been addded, either during or after fermentation. Before joining the EC, Britain, along with the rest of the English-Speaking world invariably referred to these wines as fortified wines, a term still used in many books and magazine articles.
Enforcement
There are separate controlling bodies for the different levels of the wine trade in Britain. At the wholesale level, inspection of those poducts covered by EC regulations is in the hands of the Wine Standards Board (WSB), a body finded by the Worshipful Company of Vintners and run by them in conjunction withe ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). Their network of inspectors covers the whole of the United Kingdom. The WSB's main role is as an enforcing body but they are also very happy to advise importers and potential importers on labelling matters. They cannot, however, advise on matters of English law.
At the retail level, control is exercised by the Trading Standards Officer, an employee of the Local Authority.
The Wine and Spirits Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland publish guidelines for labelling, and will answer technical questions on labelling, but their services are only available to fully paid-up members.
English Law
First things first: every prepackaged drink must have a label, the only place wwhere unlabelled packaged drinks are permitted is the producer's or bottler's cellars. In the case od say, old Vintage Ports, which traditionally do not bear labels, a luggage label must be attched to the neck. Labels are normally paper, afixed to the bottle, but screen printing directly on to a glass is also permissible.
. In contrast to European Communuity law, the fundemental premise of English labelling law is that anything which is not sspecifically forbidden by the rules is permitted.
On the label, there are six pieces of imformation that have to appear.
1. A description of what the product is - a brand name alone does not suffice, even though the consumer may well know what the nature of the product is without being told. For example, "Bell's Scotch Whiskey" rather than just "Bells".
2. The country of origin has to be shown separately; so even if, for example, the label says "Italian Lager Beer", it must also state "Produce of Italy". Wine Labelling, which is covered by by EC law, is less strict on this so, for example, "French Table Wine" would suffice.
3. The name and address of an entity prepared to take resposibility for the goods within the EC. This might be the producer of say, a beer, a supermarket group selling nder it's own label; or an importer for goods which have come from outside the EC. If a product is bottled by one company under contract, all liabilities lie with the company for which the bottling is carried out, rather than the bottler. In the case of own label products liability rests with the company whose name and address appears on the label, whether or not they manufactured the product.
4. The contents of the package expressed in metric terms. A label may bear an "e" mark by the contents, which makes export to the other EC countries easier as it is a sign that tose contents are guaranteed by the competent authorities in the producing country within the European Community, and have been bottled in accordance with the EC Liquids Directive. Packages so marked cannot be challenged by authorities in an importing Eurpean Community Country. Packages not bearing the mark "e" may be destructively tested on importation to another EC country. The "e" mark has no legal sstatus when applied to goods packaged outside the EC.
5. For goods packaged since May 1st 1988 the alcoholic strength must be shown, expressed as a percentage by volume (% vol) to the nearest 0.5%, measured on the internationally standard Organisation Internationale de Metrologie Legale (OIML) scale. Those goods bottled before that date need not show the alcohol content.
6. For such packaging or products as amy neccessitate it, a "best before" or "sell by" date must be included. A great many alcoholic drinks are excepted: for instance , product of more than 10% vol or with a shelf life of more than 18 months, and all bottled wines. Beers , on the other hand,need. one; wines packed in Tetrapak or bag-in-box may well need one too. Special conditions of use, for example , "Refrigerate after opening and consume within three days," which are obligatory for many foodstuffs, are considered unnecessary for most alcoholic drinks.
Beverages with Low Levels of Alcohol
Over the past few years, a demand for wine or beer-style products with a lower alcohol content has been created. The description of these has been tightly laid down, with both the upper and lower limits in each category strictly controlled.
Strength:
0-0.5%vol. = Alcohol free
0.05-1.2%vol. = De-alcoholized
0.5-1.2%vol. = Low Alcohol
1.2-5.5%vol. = Reduced Aalcohol
As the dfinition of wine in the EC reqires it to have at least 8.5% alcohol by volume (6.5% in Germany) the term "alcohol free wine" is forbidden.
"De-alcoholized wine" is permitted if the product is obtained from base wine which itself conforms to the EC definition of wine.
It is important to distinquish between the various categories; a customer requesting an alcohol-free drink should nor be offered a low-alcohol one, for instance. Similarly it is wrong for a shop to display a reduced alcohol beverage in a display headed "low Alcohol Drinks".
Still Wines
All still wines offered for sale in the European Community by law, be labelled in accordance with EC regulations, even if produced outrside the EC> The precept behind the controls is that anything that is not specifically permitted is forbidden. Implicit in those regulations are five different categories for still wines:
1. Quality Wine Produced in a Specified Region(QWPSR)
This is a category for wine made from grapes grown within a specified region in the European Community, and cannot, therefore, apply to wines from outside the Community. The region concerned must be registered with the EC, and legislation in each member country will implement the EC criteria for the category. Such legislation will cover:
grape varieties authorised or recommended;
viticcultural practices, especially pruning systems used;
maximum vineyard yields;
controls on winemaking, acidification, enrichment, ageing requirements, etc,
Minimum (and in some cases maximum) alcoholic content and analysis of the fininshed wine, including in many cases, organoleptic analysis(tasting).
Many European countries have two categories and QWPSR. France has Appellation Controlee' and the lesser, and smaller category of Vin DElimite' de Qualite' Superiuer (VDQS). Italian Quality Wine is divided into Denominazione de Origine Controllata (DOC) wines and those in the higher quality Denominazione di Controllata e Garantita (DOCG); whereas Germany uses the terms Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) for most of its QWPSRs and Qualitatswein mit Pradikat for the top wines.Details of these wines and the other countries QWPSRs are covered in the following sections.
Some producers will, in addition to AC, DOC etc, use the local equival;ent of QWPSR on the label, either in full or abbreiviated: VQPRD in France and Italy, VCPRD in the Iberian countries.
Once registered, significant protection is afforded to regional names and any attempt at passing off may be brought to court.
All other wine fit for human consumption produced in the EC is referred to as Table Wine. Two categories exist: Table wine with geographical description and Table Wine.
2.Table Wine with Geogrphical Description
This is a wine , other than a quality wine, from a European Community country, which mentions a specific source within, and is produced under the laws of, that country. No confusion should exist between the geogrphical description of a table wine and any QWPSR region.
Examples of table wine with geogrphical description include:
Spain: Vino de la Tierra
France:Vin de Pays
Germany:Landwein, Deutscher Tafelwein Rhein
This wine may have a vintage and up to two grape varieties mantionewd on the main albel.
3.Table Wine
The term table wine can be expressed on the label in any od the pricipal European languagwes, eg. vin de table, vino da tavola, vino de mesa tafelwein. It can only be applied to wine produced within the European Community, so the term Claifornia Table Wine, for example, is not permitted within the EC. Wines from different EC countries can be blended together, but must be stated on the label in the language of the consuming nation: eg. "Blend of wines from different countries of the European Community" for such wines offered in the UK. Only very general rules apply to table wine production, the most important being that the finished wine must contain a minimum of 8.5% alcohol by volume, and a maximum of 15% vol. (there is a derogation to 17% vol. for Greek table wine).
Table wine can bear neither a vintage nor a grape variety.
4. Wine with Geographical Description
Sparkling Wines
1. Quality Sparkling Wine Produced in a Specified Region
This can only be produced from within the European Community at AC or comparative levwel: eg. Cremant de Bougogne, Moscato d' Asti, Cava and must be made sparkling by ameans of fermentation, either in bottle or tank in accordance with the local regulations.
2.Quality Sparkling Wine
While this category is mainly for EC wines it has been extended to a number of wines made in other countries.
For these first two categories, the word "aromatic" may appear on the label if the wine is made from such a grape variety as the Moscato or Gewurztraminer.
3. Sparkling Wine
4.Aerated Sparkling Wine
General EC Regulations
Varietal labelling
Lot marking
This is a wine from outside the European Community, known officially as a "third Country wine", which names the specific producing region in that country: eg. Margaret River Chardonnay from Australia or Suhindol Cabernet Suavignon from Bulgaria. The region must be on a list approved by the European Community authorities and must not be llikely to be confused with A Quality Wine name. The region might be small or quite large, such as South-East Ausralia, which comprises three states. A vintage may be mentioned on the label and normally up to two grape varieties if a derogation is in place.
There are four different categories of sparkling wine laid down, which, with the exception of the first, have no still wine equivalents. As with light still wines, only those items specifically permitted mat appear on the label: more imformation being mandatory in the higher categories.
This too must be produced by fermentation, either in bottle or tank. A minimum of nine months must elapse from the time that fermentation begins until the wine is put on the market for bottle-fermented wines, reduced to six months if closed tanks are used. During this time bottle fermented wines must spend a minimum of sixty days on the lees, increased to eighty days for tank fermentation , unless made in a vat with rousing paddles in which case the minimumperiod is only thirty days.
This can come from within or outside the European Community. The one stipulation is that the sparkle must come from fermentation. no geographical source smaller than the country of origin can be mentioned.
This is applied to carbonated wines and the method of production must be clearly stated on the label in a phrase such as: "Obtained by the addition of Carbon Dioxide". No geographical description more precise than the country of origin may appear on the label.
Any wine produced in the EC which mentions a grape variety on the label must contain at least 85% of that variety. For most non-EC countries a wine must contain 100% of the named variety, although there are derogations for certain countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Hungary, permitting 85% and one for the United States permitting 75%.
A limited number of countries outside the EC, including Bulgaria and Chile may name two varieties on the label. Unsually Australia is permitted to list up to five varieties, provided each is at least 5 % of the blend. For EU wines any number of grapes may be listed as part of "descriptive text", but a maximum of two may appear as stand alone imformation.
Lastly, under EC regulations, in case of complaint, a consumer must be able to look at a label and recognise a distinctive reference by which the producer can check back to the bottling batch and if necessary, recall the total parcel. Generally speaking, this will be coded series of figures or letters. Such systems such as Cooledge, by which the side of thelabel nicked, are not acceptable. A batch number is not needed if the total production of that particular wine is bottled at one time. This is often the case with, for example, domaine bottled Burgundies, or Muscasdet sur lie. Nor is it required for wines bottled before July 1 1992.
--------------------SUMMARY OF EC REGULATIONS/
------------------------Imformation on Labels of Still Wine
M = Mandatory O = Optional (Blank = Not permitted) o+ = Optional for Vin de Pays, Landwein and similar categories where local laws allow.
* = Mandatory for Germany O+ = 5 for Australia
Mandatory for all other Table Wines with geographical description
Indications appearing on any Label attached to the bottle
EC Wine
EC Wine
EC Wine
Third Country Wine
Third Country Wine
Qualitywine
Table Wine with Geographical Description (eg. Vin de Pays)
Table Wine
Wine with Geographical Description
Wine
1 The word table wine
-
0+ M
M
-
-
2 The words "Quality Wine PSR or equivalent expression(eg. Appellation Controlee"
M
-
-
-
-
3 Superior Quality Description
-
-
-
O
-
4 The word "wine"
-
-
-
O
M
5 The specified region of origin in the EC (or geographical unit in third countries
M
-
-
M
-
6 Country of Origin (but see 7 & 8 below) when circulated outside producer state
M
M
M
M
M
7 In the case of a blend from more than one Member State, the words "Wine from different countries of the European Union
-
-
M
-
-
8 In the case of EC wines not turned into wine in the Member State in which the grapes were grown, an indication of the countries in which the grapes were grown and the wine made
-
-
M
-
-
9 The name and address of the bottler/consigner(EC bulk third country wines)/importer(third country wines) as appropriate. May be coded
M
M
M
M
M
10 The nominal volume of the contents
M
M
M
M
M
11 Lot (batch number)
M
M
M
M
M
12 The "e" mark
O
O
O
O
O
13 Indication as to whether the wine is red rose' or white
O
O
O
O
O
14 The actual and/or total alcoholic strength
M
M
M
M
M
15 A recommendation to the comsumer as to the use of the wine(eg. "serve chilled")
O
O
O
O
O
16 Sweet/dry description
O
O
O
O
O
17 Indication of one or two vine varieties
O
O
-
O+
-
18 Indication of vintage year
O
O
-
O
-
19 Vineyard name
O
O
-
O
-
20 Indication of a geographical unit other thana specified region or a wine-producing region in third countries
O
O
-
O
-
21 Traditional special details
O
O
-
O
-
22 Quality control number
O*
-
-
O
-
23 Serial number of container
O
-
-
-
-
24 Indication of method of production/type of product/special colour characteristics
O
O
O
-
-
25 Indication of a recognised award to the wine
O
O
-
O
-
26 Indication of bottling on the premises of production (eg,chateau bottled)
O
O
-
O
-
27 Use of a brand name
O
O
O
O
O
28 Distributor's name and address
O
O
O
O
O
29 A citation awarded to the distributor/wholesaler/retailer (eg. "By Appointment to ..."
O
O
O
O
O
History/ageing
O
O
O
O
O