Some segments of the wine industry have been, for many years, in the forefront of developing sustainable farming and low-intervention production methods that include minimal use of chemical additives.
But when an ordinary chain restaurant like Panera beats you to the punch, you know you’re losing your edge.
Panera Bread seems to have adopted the credo of healthy eating aficionados everywhere: If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it.
The restaurant chain — which has never fared badly health-wise (at least for a fast-food restaurant), is looking to remove all artificial preservatives, colors, sweeteners and flavors from their food by the end of 2016.
So, what does it all mean? Panera has compiled a “No No List” with all the ingredients it will be removing from its menu — and it looks like we’ll be saying goodbye to preservatives like propylene glycol and nitrates as well as high-fructose corn syrup.
When is the wine industry going to start putting ingredient labels on their bottles?
The Wine Curmudgeon covered this issue in some depth yesterday:
Over the next couple of years, Big Wine will add ingredients and nutrition facts to its wine, thanks to the new voluntary program, and reap the benefits. And, as the rest of the wine business holds out for reasons that no one who isn’t in the wine business understands, consumers will start to wonder if wine has something to hide.
I don’t have anything to add except to amplify the call out which should become a chorus soon.
Get your head out of the sand wine industry and join the 21st Century!
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 