How to communicate about wine in France?

Abstract

Since 25 years in France, communication about wine has too often been considered solely as an incitement to consume an alcoholic beverage. The ban on communication about wine and, indirectly, about vineyards was relaxed by two legislative reforms in 2005 and 2016 at the request of winegrowers and professionals in the wine industry to address an economic crisis in the wine sector. The French courts took these developments into account. However, we are now seeing a reversal of this trend and a desire on the part of health officials to apply the current legal standards very strictly. The current issue is as follows: How can wines with a GI be communicated and promoted without risking censorship by the French agency for the fight against addiction? To answer this question, this paper proposes to list the administrative, professional, and judicial bodies involved in the field of wine communication, specifying their respective competences and powers. It then goes on to indicate which statements and which images or photographs are authorised, offering a critical opinion on the interpretation made by the agency responsible for combating addiction, in order to avoid a return to the prohibition principle of 1991, with the Evin law.

References

de Reynal Ch., “Adverstising in France : A Fool’s Game?”, Wine Law 2021 en open acces: https://publications.eshte.pt/dir/wl/wl/281/

Lebel Ch., “Promoting the Wine Insdustry under en French Law” Wine Law 2021 en open acces: https://publications.eshte.pt/dir/wl/wl/301/n