Differing national requirements around the presentation and placement of information on wine labels was recognised by the WWTG as being another major source of unnecessary cost and impediment to the international trade in wine. The idea of a parallel agreement to address this issue was proposed in Chile in 1999, and progressed through a working group that presented its recommendations at the meeting in Sonoma, California in October 2001. The “Sonoma Principles”, as it came to be known, formed the basis for negotiations on a labeling agreement that commenced after the signing of the MAA.
The Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labeling (the Labeling Agreement) was signed in Canberra, Australia on 23 January 2007. The purpose of the Labeling Agreement is to accept common labeling information and to minimise unnecessary labeling-related trade barriers with the objective of facilitating international trade in wine among the parties.
The Labeling Agreement recognises that different markets will always have different labeling requirements. It addresses this issue by allowing a producer to have one label that can be used across all major wine markets, with a second label upon which the unique requirements of specific markets can be adjusted as required. Upon until now, this has not been possible. The agreement achieves this by:
Harmonising the presentation of those items of information that are required by all countries and placing them in a “single field of vision”;
Giving producers the flexibility to place other items of mandatory or controlled information that are specific to one country on any label they choose; and
Allowing producers to repeat any mandatory or controlled information; and
Allowing producers freedom to use other descriptive information as long as it is not false, misleading or deceptive.
Once again, the Labeling Agreement enshrines the primacy of the WTO agreements and the need to protect consumer health and safety and prevent consumer deception.
The harmonisation and simplification of labeling requirements through the Labeling Agreement reduces the production, application, warehousing and waste of labels. Gains can be made from economies of scale, and savings achieved from label printing costs, and production line costs (because of fewer stoppages). With consistent wine labeling across markets, winemakers/exporters can sell wine in various markets within the WWTG and the European Union, print and affix different front labels for each market. The Labeling Agreement also benefits consumers by ensuring that important items of information on the bottle are easily locatable within a single field of vision.
Following successful implantation of the Labeling Agreement, The Protocol to the 2007 WWTG Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labeling concerning Alcohol Tolerance, Vintage, Variety and Wine Region was signed by WWTG members on March 21, 2013 in Brussels. The Protocol builds on the Labeling Agreements standards by requiring participating countries to allow for the importation and sale of wine from other signatories, provided it meets minimum standards for labeling related to alcohol tolerance, vintage, variety and region. Once in force, the Protocol should provide enhanced access to overseas markets, enhanced predictability about regulation in key markets and will set a useful benchmark for WWTG Observer countries and other non-members.