Price is the No. 1 factor in deciding which wine to purchase, followed by the varietal (87%) and where the wine comes from (79%), a new survey for the Wine Origins Alliance finds.
Ninety-four percent of the 800 persons surveyed said they support laws protecting against misleading labels. Just six percent say they would opposed them, the survey found.
The same percentage supports laws that restrict a geographic name to wines made in that region.
The consumers said they are very inclined to pay more for a wine from a region known to produce high-quality wines (85% vs. 15% not inclined). That’s try regardless of gender or age.
The survey found that 85% of consumers say they read wine labels, and 15% notice where the wine is from. But only nearly half of consumers say they are confident that a wine is from the place where the label says. And one-third (36%) say they have bought a wine only to realize it wasn’t from the location they thought it was from.
Fifty-seven percent said they consider it deceptive for American wine producers to sell their products with foreign place names, such as Champagne, Port or Sherry even though the wine wasn’t produced in that place.
Even more (66%) said it was deceptive for a foreign producer to label their products with U.S. region names, such as “Napa Valley.”
The study says 38% of consumers think names like Champagne, Port and Sherry are so common they no longer convey a particular geographic origin and don’t need special protection.
“This survey reflects what we already knew: consumers want wine labels to accurately reflect the contents of the wine bottle,” said Anthony Sannino, president, Long Island Wine Council. “In two days, we will be meeting with members of Congress to urge them to heed consumers’ growing demand for accurate and clear wine labels. Our current laws are not enough to protect and inform consumers.”
“We represent some of the world’s leading wine regions that have taken a clear, collective stand to ensure wine region names are protected and not abused or miscommunicated to consumers,” said Linda Reiff, president and CEO of the Napa Valley Vintners. “But here in the United States, some wine region names are not protected. This makes it hard for Napa and other U.S. regions to protect their names around the world when their very own government doesn’t extend that same protection to others.”