MORE INFORMATION on LABELS IS COMING, HOPEFULLY WE ALL BENEFIT!
WINE LABELLING
Wine LABELS CAN TELL A STORY, BUT TRADITINALLY NOT NECESSARILY FactS
Wine labels (both front and back) have changed little overtime. Progressively people have added more information, then less depending on the trend at the time. Wine Australia has a label integrity program, which provides an auditable program that provided some confidence with what we read as being stated on the front and back labels. Ultimately this however covered regional claims, varietal claims, preservatives (typically expressed as containing minimal sulphites) and alcohol expressed as a percentage and also standard drinks with tolerances varying from country to country. Recently health warnings have been added in various countries, including Australia.
Wine has historically been excluded from food regulations in the main, but progressively we are seeing more debate, and in some cases regulation. In principal however, it has been left to those making claims to substantiate it. Organic Certification is a classic. The Organic word in Australia is not protected, so we have seen a range of various statements from organic principals, organic ideals or in some cases, organic certification. Sustainability claims can be validated through the use of the Sustainability Certification program, but vegan, is not protected and used quite broadly.
Our APPROACH
What its not - Our Wines do not contain manufactured chemicals such as glyphosate, pesticides, and other non-certified organic chemically derived substances.
What it is – Our wine, where stated is made from organically farmed and Certified Organic and Certified Sustainable grapes and contains yeast, natural and added sulphites for freshness and preservation and less than 0.1% residual sugar from the harvested grapes. A 100ml serving has less than 100 calories
Energy information will be printed on all our back labels going forward. You will notice these revised back labels on all future releases. Less text, more information. But mandatory labelling is a step forward in asking producers to be more transparent with the products we produce.
We actively support recycling and are active members of the container deposit schemes in each state that operates such a scheme. We label our wines accordingly and pay our annual fees to support these initiatives. All our wines going forwarded are barcoded to streamline the process.
There is a transition timeline for these introductions, but we think it is important to take the action as soon as practical with our next printed labels. For us, the 2024 Shiraz based wines and 2025 Grenache and Mataro based wines.
Australian Certified Organic logo
When you see this logo, you can be sure that we only use Certified Organic farming inputs in the vineyard and winery. We do things like adding compost and slashing grass and weeds under the vines, and we encourage our ducks to eat snails and other bugs. We do not use artificially derived herbicides or pesticides made in a lab or factory, and any composts or mulches that we use are Certified Organic.
Our wine is made, similarly, only using Certified Organic winemaking inputs and traditional techniques.
Energy Information
Energy information will be printed on all our back labels going forward. In very simple language, this panel tells you how much energy is in a serve of wine, and how much wine is in a serve. This is one of the new requirements that all wines will need to show from 2027 but we’re adding it now as it is a good idea.
Energy Information on our back labels
Container Deposit Scheme
Container Deposit Schemes have existed in many states of Australia for some time. But have excluded wine bottles. We actively support recycling and are active members of the container deposit schemes in each state that operates such a scheme.
We label our wines accordingly and pay our annual fees to support these initiatives. All our wines going forwarded are barcoded to streamline this process.
Our new labels will look like this:
Less Text, more statistical information. We expect to see more wineries move this way over time. QR Codes can provide links for more information should you desire.
what next
We will see movement towards transparency, and hopefully honesty with communications. This should allow consumers to make a more informed choice which has to be good for all.