The following came from an email that we received from Dry Farm Wines. We felt this was important enough to share as it sets a new standard for the health impact and purity of the wines that they sell. If you have not yet switched to the wines that Dry Farm Wines recommends, this article will definitely encourage you to do so!
Dear Dr. Lauren,
This is Todd, Founder of Dry Farm Wines.
I am very proud to announce that we are introducing an industry-leading new transparent wine label onto our bottles this summer. I’d like to explain why this is so important, and how this helps you make better decisions about the wine you drink.
First, here is our new label:
I circled in green the most important parts of the label, which you will not find on wine labels from other wine companies. This includes:
- A full Serving Facts panel, with lab results from a certified food and beverage lab that gives you accurate nutritional information about the wine you’re consuming.
- An accurate ingredients list, which tells you exactly what’s in the wine you’re drinking (and you won’t find any nasty additives or chemicals in our pure Natural Wines).
- Our lab tests, which give you exact measurements of alcohol, sulfites, and sugar. These are particularly important to me as a health leader.
We spent months working with the government to let us publish this information to our consumers. While we have published much of this information in our online Wine Library, this will be the first time it is on printed labels.
Why this matters
Unlike other US food and beverages, wine bottles do not require a nutrition label or an ingredients label. This is because wine content is actually regulated by the Treasury Department, not by a food agency. [1][2]
And, there are 76 additives approved for US wine making. While many are safe, others can be toxic. Because they are not required to be listed on the label, you are not aware of what’s in any given wine bottle.[3]
12 of these legal additives are classified as “health hazards” by the National Institutes of Health.[4] 2 of them are considered “acute toxins.”[5][6] 4 of them are derived from 6 different animal organs.[7] 8 of them are derived from various molds, including the mycotoxic Ochratoxin A.[8][9]
What the industry says
The wine industry is publicly opposed to transparent ingredient and/or nutritional labeling, and has spent a lot of money lobbying against it.[10]
They say: “A wine label simply does not have the ‘real estate’ available for the FDA serving facts panel that is on almost all food and beverage labels. Secondly, there was no established standard for determining all of the required information for the serving facts panel.” Of course, neither of these statements are accurate.
When I started this company, my mission was to educate as many people as possible about what’s really going on in wine. When I speak to our Members, they’re always just as shocked to learn about this stuff as I am. That’s why it’s SO important to publish exactly what’s in every wine so consumers can make informed decisions.
We are committed to providing the purest Natural Wines in the world. Thank you for your support of our mission and of the work of small family farmers around the world.
As always, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reply to this email and our Hospitality Team will be in touch.
With Gratitude,
Todd
[1] TTB – https://www.ttb.gov/wine/
treating-materials [2] USA Today – https://www.usatoday.com/
story/news/health/2013/10/29/ alcohol-no-nutrition-labels/ 3305395/ [3] TTB – https://www.ttb.gov/wine/
wine_treating_materials.shtml [4] Additives Guide – https://dryfarmwines.com/
additivesguide [5] NIH – https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/compound/3086 [6] NIH – https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/compound/1119 [7] Additives Guide – https://dryfarmwines.com/
additivesguide [8] Ibid.
[9] NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC201698/ [10] Wine America – https://wineamerica.org/
policy/policy-positions/
To try them out for yourself, go to www.dryfarmwines.com/drlauren.