The Australian company, which is sold in more than 70 countries and features brands such as Penfolds and Beringer Vineyards, claims it is the first global winemaker to provide calorie information.
Alcoholic beverage calorie labeling is something public health Members of European Parliament have been clamoring for in 2015.
TWE's rollout of calorie labeling will start in Europe due to this interest, the company said. Instead of listing the information on the bottle, the label will be provided on each wine brand’s website. This is expected to be available starting in June 2016.
Carolyn Coon, senior corporate communications manager at TWE, told BeverageDaily that US-produced wines will be labeled in line with the northern hemisphere vintage 2015, around December 2016. If brands in Europe happen to be sold in the US, caloric information could be available by June 2016.
"The calories will be included online – the bottle label will feature a web address (eg. www.lindemans.com/calories) to direct consumers to a central page that will house this information," she said. "We are finding that online is the right platform for consumers to access this type of information, and it also gives us flexibility to update information about calories outside the labeling process."
More interest in alcoholic nutritional info
Heineken, SAB Miller, Carlsberg and AB InBev, pledged earlier this year to include nutritional information on their products in Europe. Diageo has also pledged to include alcohol content and nutritional information per serving in the US.
"We’re taking this initiative as we know there is increasing interest in consumers looking for this information," Coon said. "For example, we know that DrinkAware in the UK has received more than 450,000 page views to their calories information page in 2014, representing almost a three-fold increase on the previous year. We are responding to consumer interest in this, and other regions."
Dan Townsend, TWE general manager for Europe, said the company is introducing calorie information to help consumers make more informed choices on their alcohol consumption.
“We believe a commitment to providing calorie information on our brands is a positive step that leads the wine industry in responding to consumer interests in this important area,” he said.
Beyond Europe, the company said the Americas, Asia, Australia and New Zealand are next on the list for including calorie information for wine.
The work on this project has already started, according to TWE. The company will provide calorie information on wines sold in Europe after the vintage 2016 labeling process begins.
"We are taking the initiative because we think it’s the right thing to do and we have been pleased to receive such positive support since announcing our commitment," Coon said
Industry support
Wine & Spirit Trade Association CEO Miles Beale said he welcomes this move from TWE, as he believes it is a good example of providing information to consumers to help them make informed choices.
“Significantly it also provides the sort of calorie information their consumers want and in a format that they can access easily,” he said.