False advertising with wine juice and vague answers

[nicklausjames]

Has anyone else purchased "amarone" or "barolo" juice from mosti? I have tried researching this but haven't gotten a straight answer from any of the suppliers. I was wondering if it was really these juices since that's how it's advertised and if not what it really is? I purchased anyways and will see how it goes but mosti has changed the names to "amarosso" and "granbarile". I'm assuming because it's not really amarone or barolo and they have decided not to advertise it as such. I'm fine if it's not I just wish they were upfront about it. All the suppliers which I consider reputable have still been calling it barolo and amarone. I know if I bought a case of barolo at the store and it really wasn't id be pissed. I'm wondering if anyone has any input on what it really is or any opinion on this advertising.

 

[tonyt]

I think its trademark type issues with Italian government.

 

[bkisel]

I think its trademark type issues with Italian government.

I believe you're right. I was told that RJS changed their Valpolicella to Valpola for that very reason.

 

[nicklausjames]

I guess it could be some strange italian law. I'm just skeptical. 1 if it's really barolo why wouldn't they make the wine themselves and sell it. 2. The name change seems strange. 3 barolo is just nebbiolo grapes from a certain region. It seems off. I mean if I sold grapes from ny and advertised them as italian that wouldn't be very honest. Than I just called them italio grapes??

 

[Boatboy24]

I imagine what you're getting are grapes of the correct varietals, but because of the trademarks they can't call them Barolo or Amarone.

 

[grapeman]

Several brands recently changed their naming as a result of complaints from regions and renamed them to be more generic. Sort of like changing the name Port to Port-like because Ports are specific to certain wines made in a certain region of Portugal. Mosti was one of the most responsive to change their names and has nothing to do with false advertising. We received notification this was happening some months ago.

 

[NoSnob]

I haven't bought Mosti's Barolo or Amarone kits but I have bought Cellar Craft's Showcase Amarone which they call Amarone STYLE. As others have noted, these two types use a specific varietal grape. But they also reflect very specific attributes regarding both special processing and the final resulting style of wine product.

Kit makers have had legal problems in this regard. Several years back, WE had big legal problems with their Chateau Neuf du Pape kits and were forced to re-title them Chateau du Roi or something like that. WE now describes them as similar in style to Chateau Neuf du Pape. You will note similar waffling from other makers as well.

Don't be surprised if Mosti is not forthcoming about what is in their kits. All the kit makers keep that as closely guarded proprietary information. And probably with good reason.

I think it is amazing that we accept as a given what the kit makers decide to call their juice. Truth is, they can call their kits about anything they wish and make them with a wide variety of other varietals (of any percentage) blended in, or God forbid, artificial colorings and flavorings. There are organic-based flavorings that I suspect are likely prohibited from use in American winemaking, but not in juice for winemaking kits. Remember, we are buying only juice, an agricultural product and not wine. For example, the U.S. wine labeling laws requiring at least 75% of a labeled varietal do not apply to wine kits!

So, if Mosti did agree their Barolo kits had nebbiolo juice it wouldn't mean much about what percent is in there or what else is in there!

There must be a compelling reason almost all the kit makers are based in Canada. I suspect the laws governing disclosure of contents of agricultural products like grape juice are much more lax in Canada than in the U.S. But I could be wrong.

NS

 

[tonyt]

The Italian laws are just like the French wine laws. To be called Champaigh it must be made in the Champaign reigon. Same in Italy with Barolo, Chianti, Brunello, Amarone. Must be certain grapes, recipe, aging time and within the region. You cant call your back yard burger a Mcdonalds.

 

[cpfan]

There must be a compelling reason almost all the kit makers are based in Canada. I suspect the laws governing disclosure of contents of agricultural products like grape juice are much more lax in Canada than in the U.S. But I could be wrong.

NS

First reason ... high alcohol taxes in Canada.

Second reason ... volume of sales.

Third reason ... the kit industry began in Canada

Of course the first reason drives the second and third.

Canada has labelling laws. I don't know if they are as strict as the USA, but I doubt that they are "much more lax". I suspect that food inspectors (in both countries) only care about the info printed on the box, which does not specify the grape variety. As you said the wine labelling laws (both countries again) require specific variety content. Regardless, I think that the top companies care about using the correct varieties. TimV (formerly of Winexpert) has said in the past they follow the wine labelling laws.

Steve

 

[richmke]

There must be a compelling reason almost all the kit makers are based in Canada. I suspect the laws governing disclosure of contents of agricultural products like grape juice are much more lax in Canada than in the U.S. But I could be wrong.

If you sell a product in the USA, the product sold in the USA has to meet USA laws (disclosure). So, there is no benefit of being in Canada for that reason.