Brits Laugh at Wine Warnings

Filed in archive Wine News on April 20, 2006

Not only are the British laughing at the idea of including health warning labels on their wines, they are concerned that if a bill goes through requiring this and other health labeling, they will be the laughing stock of Europe.

From Health warnings on wine are 'laughable':

THE food critic Egon Ronay has criticised government proposals to put health warnings on alcohol. Ronay, who has sold more than two million guides, said the changes would expose Britain to "worldwide ridicule".

Plans for health alerts on bottles and cans similar to those on cigarette packets were announced on Thursday by Caroline Flint, the Public Health Minister. She said the Government was talking to the drinks industry about putting the warnings in pubs, off-licences and on supermarket shelves.

Ronay said: "Britain would be exposed to worldwide ridicule if plans by Caroline Flint to print a health notice on wine labels materialise."

The warnings could be in place in the next one to two years. The minister said that because wine measures varied people did not always know how much they were drinking.