others, the only essential element ends up being the packaging or, more precisely, the shape, colors and claims contained in the label11 . With regard to the latter, their inclusion on the label is permitted under the combined provisions of Articles 118 Reg. 1308/2013, 49 Reg. 607/2009 and 2 Dir. 13/2000. As a matter of fact, these claims tend to have every possible variation between the totally generic, not to say banal (especially when it comes to organoleptic descriptions or suggested pairings) and certainly more interesting and informative profiles, such as vinification methods and practices followed in the vineyard. Here again, the information is perceived very differently depending on the consumer's level of knowledge: experts tend to overlook the first type altogether, non-experts do not understand the scope of the second12 . In conclusion, prior to the enactment of the new rules, which we will deal with later, the regulatory framework for wine labelling showed wide margins of inconsistency, at least when compared to that for food labelling. I had pointed out this legislative 'strabismus', calling for a rethink of the rules, at least in an attempt to educate the consumer to make a more informed purchase. 2. Attempts to increase information clarity: associations, certifications Wine is undoubtedly one of the food products in which the market segmentation13 and, consequently, the final price, is most varied. This entails, as already partly mentioned above, the subdivision of consumers into multiple 11 L. DE MELLO, R. PIRES, Message on the bottle. Colors and shapes of wine lables, in AAWE Working Paper no. 42, 2009; E. LICK et al.Sensory expectations generated by colours of red wine labels, in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2017, 37: 146-158; F. CELHAY, H. REMAUD, What does your wine label mean to consumers? A semiotic investigation of Bordeaux wine visual codes, in Food Quality and Preference, 2018, 65: 129-145; D. A. JAUD, V. MELNYK, The effect of text-only versus text-and-image wine labels on liking, taste and purchase intentions. The mediating role of affective fluency, in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2020, 53: 101964. 12 On the different perception of label content depending on the consumer's experience see e.g. T. DRUGOVA, K. R. CURTIS, S. B. AKHUNDJANOV, Are multiple labels on food products beneficial or simply ignored?, in Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, 2020, 68.4: 411-427. 13 E. POMARICI et al. One size does (obviously not) fit all: Using product attributes for wine market segmentation, in Wine Economics and policy, 2017, 6.2: 98-106.
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