Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Remember the idea that eating and drinking are two pillars of French joie de vivre? In 2008, the land long revered as the source of the best wines in the world traveled far down the path to prohibition of the drinking part.

The French used to laugh at American puritanism, yet Paris courts this year affirmed a ban on Internet wine advertising and censorship of wine writing in newspapers and magazines. The government is raising taxes on wine and contemplating a ban on free tastings and limiting access to wine-related Web sites as if they were pornographic.

France seems set on destroying a thousand-year wine culture that New World countries have spent decades trying to emulate. Whatever happened to “a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine,” as Brillat-Savarin declared?

It all started back in 1991 with the controversial Evin Law, named after Minister of Health Claude Evin. It placed severe restrictions on alcohol advertising and publicity, banning ads on TV and in cinemas. The Internet, in its infancy, was not on the list of media permitted to run wine ads.

Leading the French prohibitionist charge, the National Association for Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction has filed several far-reaching lawsuits against wine and beer advertising this year -- and won.

Illegal Web Site

In January, the Paris County Court ruled that the French Web site of giant Dutch beer producer Heineken NV was illegal because it contained advertising. Cautious wine and spirit companies now refuse French consumers access to their sites.

“Sorry, by the law of your country you are not permitted to view the content of this site” is the message that pops up when the French try to enter the Web site for Australia’s Orlando Wines, owned by Paris-based Pernod-Ricard SA. France joins the same censorship ranks as Iran and Saudi Arabia. Even people in North Korea get to peek.

The ban could affect all online wine sales and tourism sites that mention wine and wine festivals.

Bordeaux winemaker Jean-Luc Thunevin of St. Emilion’s Chateau Valandraud posted a totally black screen on his blog to dramatize the Internet plight for French wine.

Worse, in an attempt to divorce drinking from all pleasurable associations, the Evin Law allows ads or publicity to state only a product’s name, origin, producer, alcohol content and similar “objective” information.

Forget describing Burgundies as “seductive” or sweet Sauternes as “opulent” or showing a couple sharing romantic looks while sipping. That might incite people to imbibe!

In fact, what constitutes “publicity” is so vague that wine writing itself is under attack.

Warning Label

A Paris court ruled late last year that an article on champagne including recommendations, published in the newspaper Le Parisien, was intended to promote sales of alcoholic beverages and thus could be considered advertising. The court said the article should have carried a warning that “alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health” and ordered the newspaper to pay 5,000 euros in damages to the alcoholism-prevention association, which had sued Le Parisien over the article.

In response, wine journalist Jacques Dupont wrote a long protest article in the news magazine Le Point. The ruling also inspired a new book, “In Vino Satanas,” by Denis Saverot, editor of Revue du Vin de France, accusing the government of contempt for French culture.

Government proposals to change the Evin Law hardly please vintners. They would allow some wine advertising on the Internet, though they also would raise the age for purchasing alcohol to 18 from 16 to curb young people’s binge drinking. They also would ban sales in gas stations and all-you-can-drink open-bar nights.

The vague wording, critics say, means that free wine tastings, such as the annual “en primeur” tastings in Bordeaux for the trade, could be endangered.

Web Advertising

In a phone interview, Marie-Christine Tarby, president of Vin et Societe, a wine industry lobbying group that promotes responsible drinking, said she sees a ray of hope in recent comments by Roselyn Bachelot-Narquin, the current health minister, in favor of allowing wine advertising on the Internet.

“This is the first time a health minister has made an announcement in favor of the wine sector,” Tarby says. “It’s stupid if we cannot be proud of our wines. There is no wine culture without passion and subjectivity.”

The proposals to modify the Evin Law will be debated and voted on in January or February.

Angry vintners are protesting many of the proposed rules. They held rallies on Oct. 30, in regions from Cognac to Burgundy, draping banners with the word “censure” on road signs such as Bordeaux that are names of both towns and wines.

Like many wine drinkers, I’m in love with French wine because the country offers more top choices with real flavor and individuality than any other. So tomorrow night, as I celebrate the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the U.S., I will show my solidarity with France’s vintners by drinking French -- a seductive Burgundy or silky Beaujolais, I think.

And if you live in France, remember that following my recommendations may be dangerous to your health.

(Elin McCoy writes on wine and spirits for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Elin McCoy at emcwine@aol.com.

Last Updated: December 4, 2008 00:01 EST