Wine Law

WINE PROMOTION 291 i) consumption in improper, illegal, dangerous or socially condemnable situations shall not be encouraged; j) no association of the product with the performance of any professional activity shall be made; k) no association of the product with situations that suggest aggressiveness, use of weapons and changes of emotional equilibrium shall be made; and l) no use of uniforms of Olympic sports shall be made as support to promote a brand. Besides the general restrictions already mentioned, Brazilian advertisers must include warning messages aiming at emphasising the social responsibility of moderate consumption. Usually, the warning messages proposed by legislations are along the lines of the following: “Drink with Caution”, “Wine is an Alcoholic Beverage. Sale and Consumption Are Prohibited to Minors”, “This Product Is Destined for Adults”, “Avoid Excessive Alcohol Consumption”, “Do Not Exaggerate Consumption”, “The Less You Drink More Fun You Have”, “If You Drive, Do not Drink” or “To Serve Alcoholic Beverage to Minors than 18 Is a Crime”. These warnings arise from the tobacco legislation. The wine sector in general, from winemakers to consumers, considers inappropriate any similarity and any interference of the tobacco legislation over the wine market. It is also inappropriate, but, up to now, acceptable, to impose to meal beverages, like beers and wines, the same restrictions applicable to spirits and distillates beverages. Those warnings are usually regulated in terms of position, size and length of stay, and constitute an expropriation of the property favouring the State. Advertisers are being called to support the costs of losing space and time in advertising in favour of these so-called “educational sentences”. The courts have faced inquiries around the world by the tobacco sector, recognising the bill’s pertinence and the right of the State. All those limitations must be observed in any public media, not only for audiovisual broadcasting but also outdoors, newspapers, magazines and Internet promotion, thus including wineries webpages. The ICC Code recommends 40 that websites devoted to products subject to age restrictions, such as alcohol, should undertake measures to restrict access to such websites by minors, for instance, age screens. Sports patronage is possible in several countries, but limitations have been imposed as well, being only allowed to show the brand. 40 Article 18 of the ICC Framework for Responsible Alcohol Marketing Communication, available in https://iccwbo.org/content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/icc-framework-for-responsible-alcohol- marketing-communications-2019.pdf, accessed on 30 April 2020.