The US state of Alabama has banned the sale of a wine featuring a nude nymph on its label, deeming it ‘pornographic’.
Available to consumers in Alabama since 2006, distributors across the state have been forced to remove the wine from their shelves this week.
The Alabama Beverage Control Board has halted sales of the California-based Hahn Family Wines’ Cycles Gladiator range, rejecting the label as ‘immodest.’
Based on a 19th century Parisian advert for Gladiator bicycles by French painter G. Massias, the label features a naked nymph with flowing blonde hair flying across the night sky clutching the handlebars of a winged bicycle.
Title 20 of Alabama’s administrative code states: ‘No advertisement may include any illustration(s) of any person(s) posed in an immodest or sensuous manner’.
Hahn Family Wines President Bill Leigon has spoken out against the ban.
‘To say that this wine label is pornographic is ridiculous. It’s a beautiful piece of art that captures the grace and uninhibited beauty of our hillside vineyards,’ he said.
‘We’ve sold Cycles Gladiator in Alabama for three years and have not received a single complaint.’
Four wines are produced under the Cycles Gladiator label – Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
WATCH our brilliant new How to taste wine video with Steven Spurrier
Written by Lucy Shaw
