Wine Law

WINE LABELLING 177 while producers’ claims –especially when visually attractive – may end up being prevalent from the consumer’s perspective when compared to mandatory information. As such, a level playing field should likely be considered: relevant and unbiased information should be textually and visually placed at the same level and with the same characteristics with producers’ claims28. This should have no impact on freedom of speech, while simultaneously preventing producers from taking advantage of consumers’ cognitive biases. It would also be helpful to make a distinction in mandatory information between core items that are more relevant in influencing a consumer’s educated choice (which should be highlighted with more visual emphasis) and information that, while still mandatory, may be left to text in labels. Additionally, it is also necessary to differentiate mandatory information for different products; for example, it is certainly relevant for customers to know the region in which a bottle of milk was produced, though probably less so for a packet of cereals. While regulations regarding PDOs (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGIs (Protected Geographical Indication) partially address this problem, many products for which the place of production is relevant to consumers do not fall under origin indication rules. 3. WINE LABELLING: REGULATIONS Regulation 1169/2011 sets forth specific rules for alcoholic beverages. Article 16(4) provides that the list of ingredients and nutrition information are not “mandatory information” as defined by article 9. In practice, the only mandatory ingredient information on a wine label is the alcohol content by volume and a generic warning for allergens (typically “contains sulphites”). Lemme has argued on whether there is rationale behind this practice29. It seems that the legislator endorses a “cross-eyed” approach, while also setting forth strict (almost too strict) principles on mandatory indications for food labels, as well as simultaneously neglecting to recognise the importance of a more accurate list of ingredients for alcoholic beverages. To date, most scholars have concentrated on the need for nutritional and health information, which some governments have invoked as a measure against 28 EU Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, Food Labelling for Consumers. EU Law, Regulation and Policy Options, PE 608.871, April 2019 29 G. LEMME, Lo Strabismo di Bacco. L’Etichettatura dei Prodotti Vitivinicoli tra Tutela del Consumatore e Reticenze Legislative, in Rivista Quadrimestrale di Diritto dell’Ambiente, 2015.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==