Regulators Find Fine Fined Wines Must Warn

"Fining" has been a part of the winemaking process for centuries.  When grapes ferment, the process does not result in the clear sparkling fluid one wants to admire in the glass.  Leftover proteins and other yeast and grapeskin byproducts, while not harmful or necessarily offensive in themselves, leave the wine cloudy and visually unappealing.  The answer to the problem is fining: introducing an agent in to the wine that will snag the unwanted components and sink to the bottom, after which the newly brightened wine can be drawn off.  Or, as defined on the site of the Robert Mondavi winery, fining is:

The traditional method of clarifying wine. Insoluble substances bind with wine components and precipitate to reduce tannin or remove unstable proteins.

Historically, egg whites have been the most common fining agent.  Other options include the mineral compound bentonite, gelatin, the fish byproduct isinglass, and the milk protein casein.  The point of fining is that the fining agent itself, along with the various unwanted compounds to which it binds, will be left behind and not present in the final beverage.

Nevertheless, Insurance Journal reports that proposed federal regulations will require winemakers who fine their wine to attach allergen warning labels:

Vintners have been using byproducts from milk, eggs, wheat and even fish guts in the winemaking processes for centuries.

But a new federal proposal could require American wineries to disclose such unsavory items -- used as 'fining' agents to remove grit -- as ingredients.  The proposal, which could be passed by the end of the year, would require companies to redesign the labels on every bottle to protect people who are allergic to certain foods.

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The FDA adopted the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act in 2004.  It requires labels on every food or drink that contains one of eight major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans.

The act came after Harvard University scientist Christine Rogers petitioned the government to add an allergen warning to alcoholic drinks.  Rogers, who is allergic to eggs, said she would notice reactions whenever she tipped a glass of wine.

Oddly, given that wine is for the most part consumed and enjoyed by adults, the article cites the statistic that allergies affect 2 to 5 percent of children, and concludes with a quote from Ms. Catharine Alvarez of Fremont, California, who "supports the proposal [apparently because her] 4-year-old son is allergic to eggs, and her 7-year-old daughter is allergic to peanuts."

U.S. wine labels are already required to include the warnings of health risks associated with alcohol, and the medically questionable warning that the wine may contain sulfites.  (For more on the array of  information that is required to appear on every bottle, see this anatomy of a wine label.)

U.S. beverage regulators are not the first to consider allergy-related warnings on wine labels.  The New Zealand website of the international wine and spirits firm Pernod Ricard, for example, includes a statement on "Issues with fining agents for allergy sufferers and vegans" that demonstrates that allergen labeling, if it needs to be done at all, can be presented in a factual and non-hysterical fashion:

Allergen statements can be found on the back labels of all of our wines warning possible allergy suffers of the substances that have been used in the fining process of wine in accordance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Red Wine - 'This wine was clarified the traditional way, using egg whites. Traces may remain.'

White Wine and Méthodes/Sparkling - 'This wine was clarified the traditional way, using dairy and fish products. Traces may remain.'

That page also includes an informative description of what fining is, why it is done, and the relatively low likelihood that any allergy-causing residue remains in the wine you are drinking.

[Fining photo (look at all those eggs!) via Merryvale Vineyards.]

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For Further Reading:

Insurance Journal is unusually focused on wine today.  In addition to the labeling story, it also reports on fine wine as a tempting target for burglary.  More on my personal weblog, here.

Comments

[Catharine Alvarez]

Wine should have the same allergen labeling requirements that the FDA requires for food under FALCPA. If we have different labeling standards, consumers will have to know which products are covered by which standard--USDA? FDA? TTB? Many consumers assume that FALCPA covers all foods, beverages, and supplements. This is not the case. It creates an unsafe situation where people assume that if no warning is present, the food is free of allergens. We need to standardize allergen labeling across the board.

Yes, my children are the ones with food allergies, but I would like to be able to use wine when cooking family meals. Also, when they are adults, I am sure they will want to enjoy wine knowing that it is free of allergens.

Catharine Alvarez