Many Americans ill-informed about Red Wine, Sea Salt: Survey

Most Americans have heard that red wine has health benefits, but many don't understand the need to limit consumption, finds an American Heart Association survey. The majority of respondents also mistakenly believe that sea salt is a low-sodium alternative to table salt, the survey found. The poll was conducted to assess awareness about how wine and sodium affect heart health.

Of the 1,000 adults polled, 76 percent agreed with the statement that wine can be good for your heart, but only 30 percent knew the AHA's recommended limits for daily wine consumption.

Consumption of any type of alcohol should be limited to no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. In general, that's about eight ounces of wine for men and four ounces of wine for women.

Drinking too much of any type of alcohol can increase blood pressure and lead to heart failure, stroke, irregular heartbeat, cancer and obesity.

"This survey shows that we need to do a better job of educating people about the heart-health risks of overconsumption of wine, especially its possible role in increasing blood pressure," AHA spokesman Dr. Gerald Fletcher, professor of medicine - cardiovascular diseases at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Fla., said in an AHA news release.

The survey results, released Monday, also indicate that most respondents don't know the primary source of sodium in their diets and are confused about low-sodium food choices. Consuming too much sodium can increase blood pressure and boost the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Forty-six percent of respondents incorrectly said table salt is the primary source of sodium in American diets. In fact, processed foods such as soups, canned foods, prepared mixes, condiments and tomato sauce account for up to 75 percent of sodium consumption in the United States.

Sixty-one percent of respondents believe that sea salt is a low-sodium alternative to table salt. But sea salt and Kosher salt are chemically the same as table salt (40 percent sodium).

People should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day, the AHA says. In order to limit sodium intake, read nutrition and ingredient labels on prepared and packaged foods, experts advise.

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Wine for mommy sets off trademark fight

Rival wine sellers targeting overworked mothers are fighting over use of the word "Mommy" on their wine labels, according to a lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court.

In the suit, filed on Monday, California-based winery Clos Lachance Wines asked the court to declare that its "Mommyjuice" does not violate the trademark of "Mommy's Time Out," which is marketed by a New Jersey distributor.

"Mommy is a generic ord that they don't have a monopoly on," said KC Branch, an attorney who represents Clos Lachance. The owner of "Mommy's Time Out" declined to comment on the lawsuit. To succeed in a trademark violation case, a brand owner must show it is likely that a rival's mark will create confusion in the minds of consumers.

The front label of Mommyjuice features a drawing of a woman juggling a house, teddy bear and computer. The back label advises moms to "tuck your kids into bed, sit down and have a glass of Mommyjuice. Because you deserve it." The wine is available in a white Chardonnay and a red mixed blend.

The front label of "Mommy's Time Out," an Italian wine sold in red and white, shows an empty chair facing a corner. A wine bottle and glass sit on a table next to the chair. Trademark conflicts between winemakers are relatively common, said Richard Mendelson, a California vintner who teaches a course on wine law at Boalt Hall School of Law in Berkeley.

"For a wine coming out to market, it's hard to find a name that's not in use," he said. Mendelson also noted that wines with "fanciful" names have proliferated as marketers try to reach new categories of customers. In recent years, vintners have launched wines like "Fat bastard," "Cleavage Creek" and a red wine featuring a rooster called "Big Red Pecker."

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Woolies takeover could lead to hangover for drinkers

One competition expert says the decision allows Woolworths to concentrate its power and produce its own home brand wine leading to a bad mix for consumers. Only last week Woolworths announced the liquor arm of its business, which includes the Dan Murphy's and BWS chains, helped boost its $13 billion quarterly sales total.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's acting chairman Michael Schaper was unavailable for interview but the ACCC released a statement on its reasons behind the decision. "The proposed acquisition would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition given the presence of several significant competitors in wine retailing, production and associated services," it said. "Woolworths and Cellarmasters are both retailers of wine but with minimal overlap in their retail channels.

"Woolworths has an extensive network of bricks-and-mortar liquor retail stores but negligible existing online liquor sales. "Cellarmasters operates an online and direct wine sales business, with no bricks and mortar retail operations."

Competition and fair trade law expert Associate Professor Frank Zumbo from the University of New South Wales says today's decision is disappointing because it will adversely affect consumers over time. "[This is] for the simple reason that it will allow Woolworths to vertically integrate," he said.

"It will allow Woolworths to extend its market power through the wine supply chain. "It will lead to increased concentration in the liquor market, and we see that when there is increased concentration there are fewer players and prices go up."Professor Zumbo says it allows Woolworths to have not only retail shops and an online presence but also the ability to produce its own branded wine. "Clearly the strategy is for Woolworths to increase its presence in home brand wines," he said.

"All this together spells danger for competition and consumers. "The concern with Woolworths increasing its share of the home brand market is that it will reduce product choice for consumers over time. "We've seen it on the supermarket shelves - as the home brand products have increased their presence in supermarket shelves - the branded products are pushed off the shelf and we will see that also in the liquor market with home brand wine pushing branded wine off the market.

"Over time that will reduce product choice for consumers and the real danger is that prices will go up as that competition from branded wines falls."The ACCC's public competition assessment has not yet been released. A spokeswoman for the watchdog says it will be issued in due course.

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Wine tourism most lucrative sector

Wine tourism was one of the fastest growing and most lucrative sectors of the global tourism market, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday. “In South Africa, our wine industry plays an important role in terms of its contribution to specifically regional and rural economic growth and job creation,” he said at a stakeholder workshop at the Spier Estate outside Stellenbosch.

“In 2009 wine tourism contributed an estimated R4.3 billion to our country's tourism revenue, and we believe there is still great potential for growth in this regard.”Van Schalkwyk said increasing its revenue from tourism could help the South African wine industry offset international volatility caused by factors such as foreign currency and demand fluctuations.

Wine and gourmet tourism could also play a role in terms of South Africa's goal of increasing the geographic spread of tourism as it provided additional options for tourists. “Wine tourism is a vital product offering in South Africa's tourism product as it helps improve the country's competitiveness against destinations like Brazil, Australia, Kenya and Thailand,” he said. “We believe stakeholder inclusivity and alignment is fundamental to the adoption and implementation of a winning wine tourism strategy.”

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Cheap wine 'good as pricier bottles' - blind taste test

The blind test at the Edinburgh Science Festival saw 578 members of the public correctly identify the "cheap" or "expensive" wines only 50% of the time. They tasted a range of red and white wines including merlot and chardonnay. University of Hertfordshire researchers say their findings indicate many people may just be paying for a label.

Two champagnes costing £17.61 and £29.99 were compared, alongside the bottles costing less than £5 and vintages priced between £10 and £30. The other varieties tasted were shiraz, rioja, claret, pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc. The participants were asked to say which they thought were cheap and which were expensive.

By the laws of chance, they should have been able to make a correct guess 50% of the time - and that was the exact level of accuracy seen. The findings demonstrate the volunteers cannot distinguish between wines by taste alone, the organisers of the test say.

Lead researcher psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman said: "These are remarkable results. People were unable to tell expensive from inexpensive wines, and so in these times of financial hardship the message is clear - the inexpensive wines we tested tasted the same as their expensive counterparts."

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