07/21/2009

Champagne Bureau Announces Wine Writers and Consumer Activists Eleanor and Ray Heald as Winners of First Annual “Champagne Award”

Award Given on Fourth Anniversary of International Declaration

Washington, DC – The Champagne Bureau is proud to honor wine writers and consumer activists Eleanor and Ray Heald with the Bureau’s first annual “Champagne Award,” given to the Healds for their tireless commitment to promoting fair and accurate wine labeling. For more than a decade, the Healds have worked to ensure that consumers are protected by advocating for wine labels that truthfully depict the wine’s appellation or place of origin.

The Champagne Award will be given annually to a publicly recognized organization, individual or individuals that display a commitment to the integrity of wine place and origin. Place names are the right of every quality winemaker and winemaking community in the world, and the Champagne Award recognizes those committed to bringing an end to the practice of wine mislabeling.

“Eleanor and Ray Heald have always been leaders and strong advocates for the protection of place names in the wine industry,” said Champagne Bureau Director Sam Heitner. “Only through the voices of concerned individuals and people like the Healds can we work to change U.S. laws to fully protect consumers.”

The announcement coincides with the fourth anniversary of the inaugural signing of the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin by Napa Valley, Oregon, Walla Walla Valley, Washington State, Champagne, Port and Sherry. The Declaration was the beginning of a multi-year effort to educate policymakers and consumers around the world about the importance of wine place names. Today, the Coalition has grown to 13 members including Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Chianti Classico and others.

“It’s time to put an end to mislabeled and misleading wine labels in this country,” said Eleanor Heald. “Some wineries think this practice is acceptable because they have ‘grandfathered’ their deceptive labels, but as I’ve always said, grandpa’s been dead for a long time. American appellations are special in their own right and shouldn’t hide behind the names of other regions.”

Eleanor and Ray Heald have been writing about wine since 1978. Currently, they are contributing editors for the consumer-oriented Quarterly Review of Wines (QRW) and industry-focused Practical Winery & Vineyard (PWV) periodicals and are correspondents for AppellationAmerica.com Web site. Additionally, the Healds write their “Focus on Wine” column and “Wine Picks” recommendations for SCN Communications Group. Most famously, the Healds were instrumental in changing U.S. direct shipping laws to favor both consumers and the wine industry through the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in their favor in Granholm v. Heald.

“We’re proud to accept this award on behalf of all the consumers and wine enthusiasts in this country who support truthful representation of where the grapes used in a wine are grown,” said Ray Heald. “Eleanor and I strongly believe truth-in-labeling benefits all consumers worldwide and that it’s time the U.S. caught up with other nations that respect the names of great winemaking regions.”

Wine is uniquely tied to its place of origin. The land, air, water, soil and weather where grapes are grown are what make each wine unique. Consequently, it is vital that wine labels reflect the geographic area where they were produced in order to allow consumers to make an informed choice and protect the integrity of great wine-growing regions like Napa Valley, Walla Walla Valley, or Champagne.

Yet today, a loophole in U.S. law allows some domestic winemakers to use the place names of 16 internationally recognized wine regions on wines that are not produced in those regions, intentionally misleading consumers who have a right to know from where their wine actually comes.

A recent national survey of U.S. wine consumers found that 79 percent agreed with the Healds that consumers deserve protection from deceptive claims on food and beverage labels, and 63 percent supported a law prohibiting such misleading wine labels. But in fact, more than 47 percent of bottles labeled Champagne in the U.S. do not actually come from Champagne, France.

About the Champagne Bureau

The Champagne Bureau is the official U.S. representative of the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), a trade association which represents the grape growers and houses of Champagne, France. The Bureau works to educate U.S. consumers about the uniqueness of the wines of Champagne and expand their understanding of the need to protect the Champagne name. For more information, visit us online at www.champagne.us. Follow us on Twitter at ChampagneBureau

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