Wine Law

7 2.2. The Strict Definition of the Media Allowed According to the law 26 , alcohol advertising is allowed only on certain media , which would be: 1) Press media (except if dedicated to young people); 2) Radio-broadcasting (between midnight and 7 a.m. on Wednesdays and midnight and 5 p.m. on the other days 27 ); 3) Billboards (but the distance to some building must be respected) and small posters or any items inside a specialised point of sale; 4) Catalogues or brochures sent by producers, importers, merchants or others; 5) Vehicles usually dedicated to the delivery of alcoholic beverages (but only to give the designation of the product and the name and address of the company); 6) Promotional material for traditional feasts and fairs dedicated to local alcoholic beverages; 7) Promotional material for traditional museums, universities and courses on oenology, as well as degustation; 8) Items specifically dedicated to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, marketed during the direct sale of alcoholic beverages by the producer or during tourist visits to the production site; and 9) On the Internet 28 when (a) it is not dedicated to young people (so as long as the target is officially limited to people over 18 with some control); (b) it does not come from sports societies or entities; and (c) it is not unsolicited, intrusive and interstitial (like spam of pop up). The question remains as to whether the fact that one can share with his friends on Facebook an ad makes it interstitial and thus illegal even though the trademark holder himself would not make any unsolicited advertising. It seems to be the meaning of a decision of the High Court of 2013 that considered illegal Ricard’s iPhone application on cocktail recipes, which anyone could share on Facebook 29 . 2.3. The Strict Definition of the Contents Allowed according to the Law According to the French Public Health Code 30 , advertising must be restricted to communication on the: 1) degree of alcohol; 2) origin of the product (soil, characteristics); 3) denomination and composition of the product; 4) details of the producer or sellers; 5) elaboration process; 6) terms of sale; 7) ways to consume the product; 8) references to the terroir, the prices obtained, 26 Article L.3323-2 of the Public Health Code. 27 Article R.3323-1 of the Public Health Code. 28 Only since 21 July 2009, with Law no. 2009-879. 29 Cass. civ. 1 re (Court of Cassation, First Civil Chamber), 3 July 2013, no.12-22.633. 30 Article L. 3323-4 of the Public Health Code.