Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/172581
practicalwinerylibrary.com Access Practical Winery & Vineyard article archives online. TECHNICAL RESOURCE FOR GROWERS & WINERIES 65Effect of aeration treatments prior to/during fermentation By Linda F. Bisson, Lauren A. Schwartzburg and Andrew L. Waterhouse 77Vineyard irrigation, the Smart way By Richard Smart wine labeling Why the debate over ll nutrition labeling has l li it t tee to do with nutrients has taken credit for backing this petition.2 According to petition supporters, the percentage of alcohol by volume disclosure on alcoholic beverage products is "inadequate" and "arguably misleading."1 They argue that, under current labeling laws, "Americans are generally unaware that standard servings or drinks of beer, wine and a shot of distilled spirits each contain the same amount of alcohol." Malt Beverage (5% ABV) BY John Trinidad, Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty, Napa, Calif. R ecent debate about federal nutrition labeling for alcoholic beverages dates back at least 10 years. The latest chapter in this ongoing regulatory saga occurred in May 2013, when the U.S. Department of Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issued an interim policy that allows alcoholic beverage suppliers to voluntarily include information such as the amount of calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein per serving on "Serving Facts" statements on their labels. During the past 10 years, the distilled spirits industry has positioned itself as the champion of "nutritional labeling" for alcoholic beverage products. In contrast, the wine industry has by and large opposed such labeling requirements. The nutritional labeling debate, however, is not solely about nutrients. At the heart of the split between distilled spirits companies and wineries is how consumers will be presented with information that would allow them to compare the alcohol content of spirits and wine. 62 p r acti c al w i ne ry & v i ne yard O CTO BER 20 13 Decade-long regulatory history In 2003, the National Consumers League, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a number of other organizations petitioned the TTB to issue regulations that would require the inclusion of an "Alcohol Facts" panel on all alcoholic beverage products.1 Serving Facts Serving Size 12 fl oz Servings Per Container 1 Amount Per Serving Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Alcohol 150 0g 13.2g 1.1g .6 oz A standard drink contains 0.6 fl oz of alcohol. A serving of this beverage is 1 standard drink. .6 oz Figure 1 is an image of the petitioners' proposed Alcohol Facts label for a 750ml bottle of wine. Among other things, the petition called for mandatory disclosure of serving size for a standard drink containing 0.5 ounces of ethyl alcohol, the number of servings per container and the amount of calories and ounces of alcohol per serving on all alcoholic beverages containing more than 0.5% alcohol by volume.1 Diageo, the world's largest spirits producer, .6oz * 1.5 oz Spirits = * = .6 oz * 5 oz Wine 12 oz Beer Figure 2: In 2005, TTB requested public comments regarding this proposed Serving Facts panel. According to the petitioners, alcoholper-serving information provides consumers with a clearer understanding of "how much alcohol and how many drinks they are consuming," thus allowing them to make more informed