Smith was on the Fox Business Channel yesterday. Seems to think ingredient labels will boost sales. What say you?
If so, why doesn’t he add ingredient labels?
-Al
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All EU wines have this now (though they may not for export…)
Did it appear to boost sales in the EU?
-Al
Would we find out who is using Mega Purple?
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That would depend on details if ingredient labels became required. But, there is a good chance you would not because mega purple is reduced grape juice used in minute quantities.
Note that 100% orange juice from major brands contain an addition made from orange peels that includes aromatic chemicals that don’t naturally occur in oranges (and don’t appear on the label).
This has been discussed in the past on WB. I responded in this thread because Charles Shaw (apparently) argued ingredient labels might increase sales. Which seems absurd on its face if he isn’t using ingredient labels, unless he is concerned about increasing sales of competitors, which seems unlikely.
-Al
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It seems obvious that Shaw would not be advocating for ingredient labels if his wines contained what could be perceived as undesirable ingredients. More likely, he probably believes a lot of the competition have ingredients in their wines that might be seen as undesirable.
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So, why doesn’t he start using ingredient labels and use that in their marketing?
-Al
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Saw something about Charles Smith who lives in WA and makes excellent, world class WA wines and a new label that advocates for ingredients. Charles Shaw is a Bronco wine made for Trader Joes for $3, are you sure it was someone from Bronco?
No different than the current discussions around Tequila and what is actually in 100% Agave Tequila brnads since CRT allows 1% addition of approved additives so consumer is aware.
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As Kris said, this sounds more like Charles Smith than Charles Shaw (who sold his business to Franzia/Bronco years ago).
October 8, 2025: Seattle, WA — The wine industry has a dirty secret: 76 ingredients—including legal additives like fish bladders, hydrochloric acid, potassium ferrocyanide and more—can be dumped into the bottle without a single word on the label. Charles Smith isn’t having it. Today, the iconoclastic winemaker behind House of Smith launches REAL Wine—a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay made with just grapes and minimal sulfites. Every bottle lists its ingredients clearly on the label marking a new era of transparency in winemaking. Starting with REAL Wine, the entire House of Smith portfolio will list ingredients of just grapes and minimal sulfites on all bottles.
REAL Wine is more than a product—it’s a movement. With this launch, Charles continues his 25-year crusade for purity in the bottle, truth on the label and wine for the moment. REAL is the answer for consumers who want to know what’s in their wine and a call to action for wine companies to list all ingredients on the packaging.
Well good for House of Smith. In the current climate, it seems a smart point of differentiation.
Point taken would be that others are afraid to tell you what is in their wine.
As Al noted above, it’s a good marketing tool in a challenging time.
My bad and my apology. It was Charles Smith.
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Does make more sense and note, he actually did start using ingredient labels.
-Al
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And recall that Ridge has been doing this “for years.”
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More likely he understands that Two Buck Chuck(edit as it’s Charles Smith not Shaw…) is already perceived, rightly or wrongly, to possibly/probably have undesirable ingredients in it by many people, and he would like all of the other big and small brands to have to show that many of them are also using these same ingredients. Noting that Mega-purple, as Al stated, would likely be listed as grapes or, if we’re lucky, grape concentrate.
It’s a low risk play on his part, especially as we already consume many things in this country that have undesirable ingredients. My son is running Cross Country in middle school this fall and the last post-meet snack pack brought for them by a loving parent was all single serving junk. Pepperoni stick: beef, water, salt, high fructose corn syrup, then chemicals and nitrates in volumes below 1%. Mini chocolate chip muffins (bleached wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, water, plus chemicals….), Goldfish crackers (you get the idea…). Once it becomes the norm, we stop looking.
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Going to post separately as it’s House of Smith. Wine from just grapes and minimal sulfites sounds suspiciously like what the vast majority of my favorite producers in Oregon have been doing for years, not to mention MANY in the natural wine movement. Is this for all of the Smith wines? Or are they making some REAL wines and some not REAL wines?
He would also need to add yeast. Not least because autolysis of yeast bodies form mannoproteins with compounds in the wine and are definitely an ingredient as well as the producer of the wine. Nit-picky, I know.
He also ought to add what is added in the added in the vineyard.
Just full disclosure, in case anyone couldn’t tell, this is not my favorite “house” nor is he my favorite person. So biased.
Like or dislike Charles, I happen to like him, he is always willing to say things that others may disagree with and in this case do it on TV and let people know not all wine is just grapes.
What is actually in your wine is one of the things our industry needs to embrace (not just for wines under 7%) and act more like Tequila or Bourbon and define what can be added/used in production. We all know producers who do this and don’t feel need to put it on label, but until everyone has to and there is some labelling regulation around it, the vast majority of wine consumed in US doesn’t have to put ingredients on labels and I think that is what Charles is shooting for.
With consumers very conscious of what goes in their bodies, its a natural next step for wine to show ingredients, calories per serving, etc…as its distinctly at odds with spirits, beer, and RTDs.
Hi Kris, just for this conversation we should probably know if you or your company represent any of these wines? I do know you to be a tranparent poster and that your opinions are your own, but just for clarity.
I see wine as having much more alignment with spirits and beer than things like Mac & Cheese, Doritos, or hot dogs. These are the type of food items that need labels with ingredients and calories on them. Things like chicken, carrots, and broccoli don’t need them. Neither does wine, which is pretty basic in nature. I would 100% prefer a limitation on what can be put into wine, though I might lean away from the 100% new oak requirement of bourbon. That limitation can be set by the governing body of the state (the Willamette Valley already requires that a varietally labeled wine is 100% the grape stated on the label).
It would also be questionable as to whether a fining agent used in a winewould have to be listed as an ingredient. Technically it binds to molecules in the wine precipitates out and is left behind. For those sterile filtering their wines, it’s highly unlikely any is left behind. Defining what is allowed and what is not allowed in wines has already been done by the government, but I am fine with limiting what is used in wine production more so than it already is.
It would also be easy to simply label a wine according to it’s type (natural, non-manipulated, bought in bulk from a tank farm or whatever) or to put “No additives” on a back label.
But I really work way too hard at what we do to liken our wines to a hostess fruit pie or a jar of jelly, much less something like “uncrustables” or chicken pot pie.
I actually don’t know, which wines are you specifically asking about, the new CS label? I have represented Charles Smith when I was in WA, but now all I do is spirits nationally. I would assume we represent them in some States, but as always, these are my opinions. I doubt talking about specific wines with nutrition labels on WB would commercially benefit me or RNDC.
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Sticky situation as you’d probably have to get the FDA involved in addition to TTB and I loathe that idea. Ultimately, consumers should know what they are consuming, and while this site likely has less discussion about large commercial wines, that is where most consumers start…and if they hate their first experience and move to another category or just abstain its bad for industry.
Caloric intake is easy. The rest is challenging, as to your point, what needs to be included and is tagged as an additive? Tartaric, sugar, DAP, oak, yeast, water, are all questionable, perhaps…whereas mega purple seems to be the culprit that folks want to call out.
Honest question…if there were mega purple made from only WV grapes, can it be added to OR wine?