EU Bans Import of Some California Wines Due to Protected Names
A European Union (EU) ban on U.S. wines violating rules about the use of terms such as “clos” and “chateau” apparently took effect in March 2009. With strict regulations about the use of words like “Champagne,” “Chablis” and “Burgundy,” the EU has been feuding with the United States at least since 2002, and has ended a three-year waiver extended to U.S. vintners in 2006. The United States considers these terms to
be “semi-generic,” descriptive of wine styles and not French geography. A number of Sonoma County, California, wineries have reportedly been affected; they include Clos du Bois, Chateau St. Jean, Clos Du Val, and Clos Pegase. According to a news source, the term “clos,” which means “enclosure,” can appear on a French wine label only if the vineyard using the term produces and bottles its own wine. See Miami
Herald, March 27, 2009.
Meanwhile, a study published in March 2009 has found that for adults older than 55, drinking an alcoholic beverage a day reduces the risk of death by 28 percent. Sei J. Lee, et al., “Functional Limitations, Socioeconomic Status, and All-Cause Mortality in Moderate Alcohol Drinkers,” The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, March 2009. Based on data from 12,500 individuals questioned in 2002 about their alcohol use, functional limitations, education, income, wealth, psychosocial factors, demo graphics, smoking, obesity, and other factors, the researchers found that moderate drinking, as opposed to no drinking, was “strongly associated” with less mortality. Death by the end of 2006 was the outcome measure of the study.
