France's powerful wine lobby reportedly is asking the nation’s regulators to classify wine as a food instead of an alcoholic beverage, a move that would allow wine to be advertised on radio and television, and eliminate the requirement that all wines contain a label saying that “abuse of alcohol is dangerous for your health” and should be consumed “in moderation.”
By changing the ground rules under which wine is promoted and sold, the industry representatives are hopeful that the decline being experienced by the nation’s vintners can be stayed or reversed. The lobbyists also are pushing for a national education program that would help people understand the health values inherent in responsible wine drinking.
Whether the government accedes to the lobby’s request apparently is contingent on how wine’s “nutritive components” are defined.
By changing the ground rules under which wine is promoted and sold, the industry representatives are hopeful that the decline being experienced by the nation’s vintners can be stayed or reversed. The lobbyists also are pushing for a national education program that would help people understand the health values inherent in responsible wine drinking.
Whether the government accedes to the lobby’s request apparently is contingent on how wine’s “nutritive components” are defined.
- KC's View:
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We would agree that wine is a food; that’s certainly the attitude we have around our household.
But there is some resistance to any change among those in France concerned about the nation’s level of alcoholism. However, only in France could one of the folks opposing the classification of wine as “food” suggest that, instead, it could be classified as a “condiment.”
