Why Wineries Should Embrace Ingredient Labeling

Nearly 50% of U.S. wine consumers believe wine is high in added sugar.

That figure – contained in a Wine Marketing Council report discussed by Liz Thach in Forbes – is reason enough for wineries to embrace ingredient labeling. Most wine doesn't have added sugar. A lot of us base purchase decisions upon avoiding added sugar as much as possible. So, it only makes sense to welcome the opportunity to highlight the absence of an ingredient that many consumers regard as deadly.

Thatch's column lists other reasons too, starting with the fact that 33% of consumers under 40 think ingredients should be included on wine tables. Consumers also want to know calories and carbohydrates. Wine marketers fretting over the loss of younger drinkers should seek to answer their questions.

Also: Some consumers have serious allergies to certain additives in some wines, while others are following strict vegetarian or vegan diets for medical or religious reasons. "We really do owe it to people who have medical, personal, or religious issues with the presence of this or that additive in their wine to accurately represent the wine's relevant contents,” Randall Grahm, Founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard and current owner of Popelouchum Estate, told Thach.

To be sure, there are some cons to ingredient labeling, starting with the cost of redesigning labels to include the information. This can be dealt with either by exempting wineries that produce only a few barrels a year, or by making possible an extending phase in period.