WINE LABELING: BOTTEGA (PROSECCO), 'EU POSITION THAT HARMS 1 MILLION ITALIAN WORKERS'

«The Irish initiative on wine labelling, actually endorsed by the EU, is a simplistic stance that does not solve the problem. We intervene straight leg, putting into difficulty an important economic sector which employs millions of workers in Europe, of which more than 1 million in Italy, without making the necessary distinction between abuse and moderate consumption». This was denounced by Sandro Bottega , owner of the company of the same name in Bibano (Treviso), one of the main producers of Italian wine and spirits and creator of the "Prosecco Bars" which are depopulating all over the world. «An alarmist label, as demonstrated for tobacco, does not lead to a decrease in the abuse of consumption and therefore in the risks that medicine mentions. Instead, Bottega continues, it would be necessary for the EU to promote an education campaign on drinking and eating healthy, always with a view to moderation and the correct combination of foods. Let's be clear, alcohol is a harmful substance for the body, but sugar, sausages, coffee, butter, meat, cheeses, soft drinks are also harmful, not to mention foods rich in fat saturated. The key is moderation which, together with the Mediterranean diet (which includes a glass of wine), seems to be the secret of the blue zones of the Mediterranean, i.e. the areas (Sardinia, Molise, etc...) where the highest density is recorded of centenarians in relation to the resident population. Tradition and history teach us, certainly better than a label, what is the correct approach to wine and food. It is no coincidence that Dante wrote seven centuries ago in a passage from Purgatory in the Divine Comedy: "Look at the heat of the sun that becomes wine that has reached the omor that flows from the vine"», concludes Sandro Bottega.