• Putting the grape on the label: It’s now legal for European wine producers to put the name of the grape on the label, thanks to a series of laws that went into effect at the beginning of the month. Most of the rest of the changes won’t mean much to U.S. consumers, but it will be a shock to see sangiovese on a bottle of Chianti or pinot noir on a bottle of red Burgundy. The new laws, incidentally, are part of a group of reforms to modernize and standardize the European wine industry. This is a response to the growing popularity of New World wines, which have better looking and easier to read labels.
• Another generation of Franzias: The Franzia family, which gave the world Two Buck Chuck, has expanded. The family’s fourth generation has put together Panther Rock Wine Company. It will also, apparently, focus on inexpensive wine; its first three labels are $9.99, $8.99, and $6.99. No word yet on where they will be sold.
• Virginia cracks down on direct shipping: Liquor regulators in the Old Dominion have said they will more closely watch how retailers and wineries ship their wine. The details are fairly complicated (unless you’re a supply chain geek, which, sadly, I am), but the outline isn’t. If shippers use any kind of shortcut, including a practice common in most states in which wineries hire a third party to store and ship their wine, the Virginia wine cops will come after them. Third-party shippers are common because most small wineries don’t have the resources to do their own shipping.
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