Wine label may give misleading place of origin

Amateur wine drinkers often claim that they choose which wine to buy based on how much they like the label design. More serious wine drinkers, however, may look at the region in which the grapes were grown.

What happens if a wine label misleads consumers about its true place of origin?

Recent case of misleading pinot noir place of origin
The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported on a story of a misleading label regarding wine origin. The Willametter Journal Pinot Noir, created by well-known California winemaker Joe Wagner, implies it was created in Willamette Valley just by its name. The label also says “the Willamette region of Oregon’s coastal range.” However, the wine actually doesn’t qualify to be designated as a Willamette Valley wine.

The issue is now heating up as media reports cast light on the conflict. It’s been alleged that the claims on the wine’s label could violate federal regulations by falsely advertising the place of origin of the grapes used to make the wine.

An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is required on wine labels to meet federal code, and critics are saying that the Willametter Journal doesn’t follow this guidelines, since the “territory of Oregon,” which appears on the label, is not an AVA.

The issue is now being looked into by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, and officials have requested that the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau and the fraud and consumer protection division at the state attorney general’s office also investigate the issue.

Why does it matter?
As anyone involved in winemaking and distributing knows, location, and alleged location, is a big deal. For example, a Bordeaux that wasn’t actually made in the Bordeaux region would cause the name to lose its credibility. These names are based on regions, and a wine not made in these places cannot claim that it was originated there. (There are many complications to these rules, of course).

For this reason, people in the industry care deeply about what a brand claims on its label. And Willamette Valley is no exception. Winemakers in the region are proud of their product and they don’t want it to be taken for granted so that someone else can profit off the name.

But Wagner says that the “Willamette region of Oregon’s coastal range” and the “territory of Oregon” that appear on the label are not official wine regions.

The question is whether this “fanciful” language follows regulations or not.

When it’s time to revise your products’ labels and get them in line with rules and expectations, check out label printers at Optimedia Labs’ U.S. page or Canadian site.