Remove the “non” from non-alcoholic wine

Remove the “non” from non-alcoholic wine was the call by Italy’s Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollogobrigida at the annual wine trade fair Vinitaly.

“Let’s make non-alcoholic drinks, but not call them wine,” Minister Lollobrigida told delegates.

He has previously campaigned against meat grown in laboratories and flour made from ground-up insects, describing them as threats to Italian agriculture conjured up by multi-national firms.

Minister Lollobrigida (pictured below) has also slammed Ireland’s plan to put a health warning on wine.”Today … we are witnessing the attempt of some nations to reintroduce a new prohibitionism through labels. While the labels must encourage moderate and conscious consumption but must not terrify the consumer”.

Vinitaly included an exhibition “Wine between myth and culture” hosting works from both the Torgiano Wine Museum of the Lungarotti Foundation and from various Italian museums. It included