The subject today is new government rules that were put in place this year as a result of an agreement with the EU. These rules involve new label approvals for any US made wine that preclude the use of the following words in the name of the wine:

Burgundy, Chablis, Champagne, Chianti, Claret, Haut Sauterne, Hock, Madeira, Malaga, Marsala, Moselle, Port, Retsina, Rhine, Tokay, Sherry.

Use of these words on existing labels is grandfathered in, until those labels need re-approval and then the new rules will apply. So Korbel Champagne, Gallo Hearty Burgundy, etc. are not immediately affected - this is why you will continue to see American ports and champagnes on the shelves for a while (even though the label designs may become anachronistic.)

These rules have actually been effectively in place since March, in a “we strongly urge you” way - I blogged about our experience with these rules on our winery blog. And now Congress has acted to put those rules firmly in place - yesterday Tom Wark blogged about this news.

What these rules mean for a winery is that now we must come up with ways to describe our product on the front label, without using the Forbidden Words. As Tom pointed out, “Fortified Zinfandel Wine” is a lot less descriptive than “Zinfandel Port” - and to me it sounds like I will be getting 8 essential vitamins and minerals with every glass…

For the consumer, you get the fun of decoding our new clever fanciful names on our labels to figure out what you are really getting. Some will be easier than others; for example, Quady has had a “Starboard” for many years, and this year we introduced our first “Pour’t”. I expect we’ll see other variations: P*rt, Po Ert, etc. For sparkling wines, “Sham Pain” would be obvious and would also describe the whole situation…

So what are your ideas for new names? To what name, for example, should Gallo change “Hearty Burgundy”? Tell us!