SCOTT SIMON, Host:
Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: At a wine fair in Paris, hundreds of vintners from Bordeaux Burgundy and all over France extol the qualities of their wines in a giant exhibition hall. Francois Brun(ph) is a seventh generation winemaker from Alsace. The elegant labels on Brun's bottle describe the great variety, give the vintage and carry the name of his chateau. And now, they also carry a mandatory warning - the silhouette of a pregnant woman holding a glass with the universal flash mark across her bulging belly. The black and white logo may be minuscule, but Brown says it clutters his labor and could hurt sales.
FRANCOIS BRUN: (Through translator) For us, wine is anchored in our traditions and we are used to sharing it in a responsible way. We don't feel we are making a dangerous product for pregnant women or anyone else as long, as it is enjoyed with pleasure and moderation.
BEARDSLEY: Michel Craplet is a psychiatrist with the French Association of Alcoholism and Addiction, one of the groups that lobbied for the warning label. Craplet says the regulation met such resistance because it meant accepting that wine could be as dangerous as other alcoholic drinks.
MICHEL CRAPLET: Wine is a totem. It's a very important product in the culture not only in the agriculture but in the culture of France, in paintings, in literature wine is everywhere. So drinking too much wine or not drinking at all is concept to be a bad citizen.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOORBELL RINGING)
BEARDSLEY: Outside on the sidewalk, a young couple is looking at Scala's champagne display in the window. A question about the logo amuses them. They're expecting their first child.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SALVEC MONDIE: (Speaking in French)
BEARDSLEY: I think they are right to put the logo, but we don't really need it. Everybody already knows not to drink if you're pregnant said Salvec Mondie. You can drink in occasional glass, but it should be rare. And most future mothers don't drink at all.
MONDIE: (Speaking in French)
BEARDSLEY: For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.