Schramsberg and Beringer Vineyards Awarded First Annual Truth-in-Labeling Award of Excellence for Leadership in Accurate Wine Labeling

November 3, 2009

Award highlights leaders in U.S. Wine Industry who use truth-in-labeling to put consumers first

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Champagne Bureau, the U.S. representative of the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), is proud to announce that two visionary U.S. wine producers, Schramsberg Vineyards and Beringer Vineyards, have been awarded the first annual Truth-in-Labeling Award of Excellence.

The Truth-in-Labeling Award of Excellence is given to leaders in the wine world who demonstrate a commitment to the integrity of wine place and origin. In the case of these two producers, their commitment to truth-in-labeling has included significant labeling changes that ended the use of terms associated with other wine growing areas, and proudly supports the grape locations where their wines come from.

"Wine labels that truthfully depict the wine's appellation or place of origin ensure that consumers receive clear information and are a further sign of the winemaker's pride in the location from where the wine comes," said Champagne Bureau Director Sam Heitner. "Schramsberg and Beringer's consistent leadership in proudly proclaiming the origin of their grapes, educating consumers about the importance of truth-in-labeling and making business decisions based on these beliefs makes them perfect recipients of this award. We look forward to highlighting numerous other examples of similar leadership throughout the U.S. wine community in years to come."

In the last year, these two wineries took their commitment to truth-in-labeling a step further. In July, Beringer and Schramsberg formally requested that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) delete a total of thirteen old Certificate of Label Approvals (COLA) from the government's database. Despite not having been used in years, the COLAs had still been registered to these companies and included the term "Champagne." Such a step was necessary since unlike trademarks COLAs never expire and can even be sold or transferred, a disregard for the spirit of the trade agreements.

Both wineries are located in Napa Valley, an original signatory of the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin. The Declaration was the beginning of a multi-year effort to educate policymakers and consumers around the world about the importance of wine place names. Today, the Coalition has grown to 13 members including Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Oregon, Washington State, Champagne, Port and Sherry among others.

Wine is uniquely tied to its place of origin. The land, air, water, soil and weather where grapes are grown are what make each wine unique. Consequently, it is vital that wine labels reflect the geographic area where they were produced in order to allow consumers to make an informed choice and protect the integrity of great wine-growing regions like Napa Valley, Walla Walla Valley, or Champagne.

Yet today, a loophole in U.S. law allows some domestic winemakers to use the place names of 16 internationally recognized wine regions on wines that are not produced in those regions, potentially misleading consumers who have a right to know from where their wine actually comes.

Consumers are asked to join these wine regions, groups like the National Consumers League, producers like Schramsberg and Beringer, Members of Congress, and all those who support fair and accurate wine labeling by signing a petition at www.protectplace.com. For more information, please contact Shira Levy 202-777-3516 or slevy@clsdc.com.

SOURCE The Champagne Bureau