Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

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40 Pa. Code § 13.23. Prohibited statements.

§ 13.23. Prohibited statements.

 No advertisement of wine under this subchapter may contain any of the following:

   (1)  Any of the statements described in §  13.13(1)—(6) (relating to prohibited statements).

   (2)  Any statement concerning a brand or lot of wine which is inconsistent with any statement on the labeling thereof.

   (3)  Any statement, design or device representing that the use of any wine has curative or therapeutic effects, if such statement is untrue in any particular, or tends to create a misleading impression.

   (4)  Any statement that the wine was manufactured in, or imported from, a place other than that of actual origin, or was produced or processed by one who was not the true producer or processor.

   (5)  Any statement or representation of, relating to, or capable of being construed as relating to the Armed Forces of the United States, the American flag, any state flag or any emblem, seal, insignia or decoration associated with such a flag or the Armed Forces of the United States; nor any statement or representation of or concerning any flag, seal, coat of arms, crest, other insignia or Pennsylvania Keystone, likely to falsely lead the consumer to believe that the product has been endorsed, made, used by, produced for, under the supervision of, or in accordance with the specifications of the government, organization, family, or individual with whom such flag, seal, coat of arms, crest, insignia or Pennsylvania Keystone is associated.

   (6)  Any statement of bonded winecellar and bonded winery numbers, unless stated in direct conjunction with the name and address of the person operating such winery or storeroom. Statement of bonded winecellar and bonded winery numbers may be made in the following form: ‘‘Bonded Winecellar No.


,’’ ‘‘Bonded Winery No.
,’’ ‘‘B.W.C. No.
’’ or ‘‘B.W. No.
.’’ No additional reference thereto shall be made, nor shall any use be made of such statement that may convey the impression that the wine has been made or matured under U.S. or any state government supervision, or in accordance with U.S. or any state government specifications or standards.

   (7)  Any statement or representation relating to alcoholic content or which tends to create the impression that a wine is ‘‘unfortified’’ or ‘‘fortified,’’ has intoxicating qualities, or contains distilled spirits, except where a reference to distilled spirits in a statement of composition is required by this subchapter to appear as a part of the designation of the product.

   (8)  Any statement relating to age except in the following instances:

     (i)   In the case of vintage wine, the year of vintage may be stated if it appears on the label.

     (ii)   Truthful references of an informative nature relating to methods of production involving storage or aging (such as ‘‘This wine has been mellowed in oak casks,’’ ‘‘Stored in small barrels,’’ or ‘‘Matured at regulated temperatures in our cellars’’) may be made.

     (iii)   The statement of any bottling date will not be deemed a representation of age if such statement appears in the following form: ‘‘Bottled in


’’, (inserting the year in which the wine was bottled).

     (iv)   No date, except as provided in subparagraphs (i)—(iii) shall be stated unless, in addition direct conjunction therewith, in the same size and kind of printing there is stated an explanation of the significance of such date. Where reference is made to the date of establishment of any business, such date may be stated without undue emphasis and in direct conjunction with the name of the person to whom it refers.

   (9)  Any statement or representation referring to religious holidays. References to the Christmas holiday season may be made where such references do not include strictly religious themes. The continued use of statements or illustrations alluding to the traditional use of wine, or the historical development of the wine growing industry in connection with the establishment of early religious communities which might be associated with religious origins or development, will be permitted.

   (10)  Any statement or representation implying that the consumption of wine enhances athletic prowess, or any reference to any known athlete, if it implies that the use of wine contributed to the athletic achievements of such person.

   (11)  Any illustration of a person which is immodest, undignified or in bad taste.

   (12)  Any illustration depicting the use of wine in a scene which is undignified, immodest or in bad taste.

   (13)  Any offer of a prize or award to a consumer for the completion of any contest requiring a purchase of the advertised product. No wine advertisement shall promote a game of chance or lottery.

Cross References

   This section cited in 40 Pa. Code §  13.21 (relating to mandatory statements).



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