Wine with Leslie: The folly of wine labelling - and the dangers it poses
Wine with Leslie: not a fan of labelling wines on the basis of health risk
Our idiotic Department of Health is at it again and if they succeed in their latest folly we could be waving goodbye to 95% of the wines recommended on this page. The Government is determined to introduce new health labelling on alcohol products as the final part of the 2018 Health (Alcohol) Act which also brought us minimum pricing. Already agreed by the EU Commission, the proposal is with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for approval as the labelling may be an obstacle to International Trade.
Under the proposal, it is likely the labels will need to be applied by the producer and include a cancer warning. We would be the only EU country requiring this labelling and this will in my opinion seriously damage our standing in the EU and endanger the free movement of goods.
The Department claims the labels can be applied by retailers, but this is unlikely to be practical or possible. In addition, the value of fine wines in wooden crates would be damaged if opened to apply new labels. I thought we were in favour of the Single Market and supportive of the farmers of Europe? No small wine producer will create new labels for the tiny Irish market. No prestige producer will either- say goodbye to Château Margaux and Château Lynch-Bages. These wines are already oversubscribed, why would they sell to us?. Say goodbye to small independent importers also - they will have no wine to import.
The EU already has plans in train for new alcohol labelling so Stephen Donnellyâs proposal is premature and smacks of grandstanding, âlook at us, we are the best boys in the class!â Why not work with the EU on their new labelling proposals? I notice there is no call from the Department to require ârisk of cancerâ labelling on Irish Bacon and similar processed meat products which have been linked to cancer.
It is bad enough that we have the highest tax on wine in the EU - is this because we donât make any for export? Imagine if the Greeks decided to charge âŹ22 per 500g of Kerrygold and required labels about heart disease? Can we afford to anger the French, Italians, Germans and the 20 other wine-making nations?
All the wines recommended this week may disappear if Donnelly gets his way.
From a small family-run organic winery in the Treviso hills in NW Italy - exactly the kind of producer we will lose if the Governmentâs label plans go through. The 2021 vintage landed a month ago - lime & kiwi aromas, juicy, fruity and zingy with a touch of spritz and tangy lemony finish.
One of the tastiest and best value organic wines available here and a wine in demand so donât expect the to make a special label solely for our tiny market - white peach, orange zest and lemon oil aromas, textured and creamy with herbal complexity and a taut dry finish. Delicioza.
Imported by VinosTito who specialise in tiny producers, some with just a hectare or two - 90% of their wines could disappear from shelves. A blend of 50% Monastrell and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon from Valencia in Eastern Spain - textured dark cherry fruits, lively and fresh with crunchy dark berry fruits on the finish.
This tiny producer is here thanks to the equally tiny importer Mary Pawle - Bonne-Tonne measure their vineyards in âaresâ (100 ares to a hectare). âGrand Crasâ is at the bottom of the famed âCĂ´te de Pyâ hill on granite soils - generously packed with soft blackberry and spice-tinged red and black fruits. Drink it while you still can.
Brand new from Tindal/Searsons so not widely distributed here just yet. From an estate founded in the early 18th Century and family-run. Pours a bright purple despite its five year ageing, ripe berry aromas, juicy and fresh with a pleasing ripeness and lingering spice notes. Another producer likely to skip Ireland given their production.
From 100-year-old low-yielding Carignan vines (30hl per ha) on a small organic 12ha estate in one of the more remote parts of the Languedoc. Ripe red fruit aromas with a hint of smoke and forest floor, fruit-driven with a pleasing lithe vinosity and liveliness on the palate, and cherry skin textures on the finish.
The Macivor family first planted apples in 1855 and are one of the most visible of the craft ciders thanks to good distribution. This is made from the fresh juice from 10 varieties of Irish-grown apples including dessert, Bramley and traditional bitter cider apples. A world away from the apple-flavoured water that characterises most big brand ciders - a fine match for Irish washed-rind cheeses and for Pork dishes.
Aromas of apple pie, poached pears and a hint of caramel, fruity and rounded on the palate with crisp apple and citrus flavours and a touch of apple-skin tartness on the mid-palate and the dry finish.
