The Makro premium liquor catalogue, which says its prices are valid from 18 May to 26 July 2010, features Platter star ratings taken from the popular wine guide's 2010 edition.
But wine critic Neil Pendock argues this is misleading advertising because "2010 white wines have been released, and will presumably appear in the 2011 guide, [to be] released in November, the 2010 Platter ratings do not apply to many current vintage white wines".
The question is, does this mean that, "once awarded, a 4½-star Platter rating applies to all vintages, including the 2010s that are yet to be assessed"?
Pendock explained that, because ratings were vintage dependent, Makro was misleading consumers.
Makro national wine buyer Carolyn Barton disagreed, saying the retailer assigned ratings based on the Platter catalogue's general rating, "which is not vintage specific. We only include ratings that are four-stars or above, which gives the track-record rating over two or more vintages."
Makro did not include wine vintages in the catalogue because "many stores carry many different vintages of a specific wine".
But Pendock insisted that the ratings were vintage specific. "Wines from different vintages taste differently."
Makro was "cherry-picking" high-rated Platter awards, "which is misleading consumers. Consumers are being ripped off, and producers are being blackmailed ... it is actually fraudulent practice" and should be brought before the Advertising Standards Authority.
This is not the first time Makro is said to have bungled its use of Platter ratings. In 2008, it advertised "current wine vintages" with Platter star ratings before grapes for some of the Makro-advertised wines were harvested.
Source: The Times
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