29/01/2009 - Firm to challenge 'wine' label ban
A Government ban stopping a British winemaker from describing a low-alcohol drink as wine is to be the subject of a High Court appeal held next month.
Sovio Wines says that the product, which at the moment is described as a "wine-based drink", is wine and should be sold as such.
The company, based in Farnborough, Hampshire, was stopped by the Food Standards Agency in September 2007 from selling Sovio, which it was marketing as "a naturally light semi-sparkling wine".
The FSA also said that the company used an "unauthorised technique" to lower the alcohol content of the drink, which is 8% alcohol compared with the typical volume for wine of more than 12.5%. Sovio is produced using a technique called spinning cone.
Sovio Wines says that the FSA's decision contradicts Government attempts to reduce the amount of alcohol drunk in the UK.
Company chairman Tony Dann said: "It's crazy that this product, which is pure undiluted premium wine and combines total integrity of flavour with much lower alcohol content, is somehow illegal.
"The Government is urging the drinks industry to provide a wider range of lower alcohol products, consumers want to drink them, and yet the FSA is seemingly trying to kill a product that everyone wants."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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