Dispatches to shock UK wine drinkers

What’s In Your Wine? This evening’s Dispatches programme, Channel 4 at 8 pm, is set to cause quite a stir in the wine world. With a particular focus on wines bought in the UK, the programme makes some incendiary claims, including: certain producers use artificial flavourings and additives to mimic the taste of the grape, and traces of two chemical pesticides have been found in some Champagne.

The Sun’s Jane Moore, who investigated the "wholly natural" claims of producers for Dispatches, has said that she was "shocked" at what she discovered, namely that there is a lot more in the bottle than the label would have you believe.

As well as the above, Moore claimed that some producers add oak chippings to a wine that has never seen a barrel, and that "some wine is now so industrially processed that one critic has dubbed it no better than an ‘alcoholic cola’."

According to her column published today, Moore also said that Hardys revealed that they add "yeast to their merlot red wine and use egg, milk and gelatine to fine their product and make it less cloudy." In addition, Jacob’s Creek admitted they added "tartaric and ascorbic acid to their Chardonnay and also used clay, enzymes and milk powder as a fining agent." While Blossom Hill said they "may add tartaric acids, enzymes and tannins to the grape juice."

It is believed that many producers are understandably worried about tonight’s programme, which also reveals that an £8 bottle of wine selling for a "reduced" £5, was only ever meant to be sold at £5, according to the producer’s expectations.

The fallout from these revelations has the potential to be far reaching, and in all likelihood, the producers and retailers are already preparing their rebuttal.

Jeremy Beadles, cheif executive of The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), today issued a statement responding to the programme. "Winemaking has always involved the use of certain additives to ensure consumers enjoy a consistent high quality product," he said.

"There is no secret, EU regulations spell out the ingredients permitted for use and the amounts allowed. If any producer is found to have breached these regulations we fully support action by the authorities.

"The precise combination of ingredients used in the winemaking process varies because no two batches of grapes are the same," he continued. "This variance and the need to translate materials into 27 languages to satisfy EU single market requirements mean precise labelling for wine covering full ingredients would cost an estimated one billion Euros over three years.

"This cost would have to be borne by consumers or by producers. The reality is that many smaller producers would stop selling products in smaller markets. Consumer choice would be diminished.

He concluded his statement with: "That is why the WSTA and other European bodies representing the wine industry argue that wine makers be excluded from listing full ingredients on labels."

Alexis Hercules 15/09/08