Kermit Lynch
Encyclopedia
Kermit Lynch is an American
wine
importer, author
, and winemaker
based in Berkeley, California
. He is the author of Adventures on the Wine Route which won the Veuve Clicquot
Wine Book of the Year award. He is a winner of the James Beard Foundation
's "Wine Professional of the Year", and the Chevalier de l'Ordre de Mérite Agricole medal presented by the French
government for his service to the wine industry. In 2005 he was awarded the insignia of Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French government.
with the Surgeon General
's warning against alcohol
consumption but prohibited any countering sentiment about the benefits of moderate wine drinking to be on the label.
On numerous occasions, Lynch petitioned the BATF to allow him to add a statement about the benefit of wine to go with the Surgeon General's warning such as quotes by Louis Pasteur
on the hygienic
properties of wine, the Bible
on wine's healing properties, and Thomas Jefferson
on the pleasures that drinking wine can bring. After many trials, Lynch finally had his request approved.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
importer, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and winemaker
Winemaker
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:*Cooperating with viticulturists...
based in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. He is the author of Adventures on the Wine Route which won the Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is both a champagne house in Reims, France, and a brand of premium champagne. Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron, Veuve Clicquot played an important role in establishing champagne as a favored drink of haute bourgeoisie and nobility throughout Europe...
Wine Book of the Year award. He is a winner of the James Beard Foundation
James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...
's "Wine Professional of the Year", and the Chevalier de l'Ordre de Mérite Agricole medal presented by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
government for his service to the wine industry. In 2005 he was awarded the insignia of Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French government.
Conflicts with wine labeling laws
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lynch took objection to a regulation of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms that required wine bottles to be labeledWine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...
with the Surgeon General
Surgeon General of the United States
The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...
's warning against alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
consumption but prohibited any countering sentiment about the benefits of moderate wine drinking to be on the label.
On numerous occasions, Lynch petitioned the BATF to allow him to add a statement about the benefit of wine to go with the Surgeon General's warning such as quotes by Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
on the hygienic
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
properties of wine, the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
on wine's healing properties, and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
on the pleasures that drinking wine can bring. After many trials, Lynch finally had his request approved.