Monday, November 17, 2025 - Experts in Nigeria’s wine industry have raised alarm over the growing circulation of fake and substandard wines in the country, urging stricter regulation to protect consumers, reduce health risks, and boost confidence in the sector.
Speaking at a recent wine-tasting event in Lagos, the
Founder of Vines by Rosa, Chinedu Rosa, stressed that consumer education is
central to tackling counterfeit products and ensuring public safety. She
explained that her initiative aims to provide good-quality wines at fair prices
to Nigerians, while safeguarding consumers from unscrupulous sellers.
“Nigeria’s wine industry is stepping up efforts to curb the
circulation of substandard and counterfeit products. This is critical to
reducing health risks, strengthening consumer confidence, and boosting national
revenue from legitimate imports,” Rosa said. She highlighted that part of the
initiative involves introducing consumers to authorised importers,
distributors, and retailers to ensure traceability and authenticity.
She further explained, “Consumer education remains central
to eliminating fakes. If you don’t know, you don’t know. If nobody tells you
the difference between labels, you might not know. We are not looking for
tourists to buy our wine. We buy, we drink it. That makes us one of the
strongest markets in the world because we are not relying on tourism. Removing
substandard products will also allow the government to earn more from taxes and
customs duties.”
Rosa emphasised the public health aspect of the fight
against fake wines. “We don’t want people drinking substandard wines and
falling sick. It must be something that is not detrimental to consumers’
health, because the worst thing in a country is having sick people, which also
affects our GDP,” she said. She added that her work serves as a bridge between
wine producers and Nigerian consumers, ensuring accountability across the
industry.
According to Rosa, her operations include collaborations
with more than 50 importers across Africa, including 20 in Nigeria, enabling
full product traceability. “Go online, check what you are buying, check where
it’s coming from. There’s traceability with us. Everything we do, the winery
exists, the people who make it exist, and I exist to make sure that if you need
anything from them, you call me,” she said.
Supporting Rosa’s position, the Senior Export Manager, Dario
Zugaro, said, “We hope that both now and in the future, Nigeria remains a good
country to do business in. Unfortunately, there are wines of substandard
quality in Nigeria, but Nigerians, especially the younger generation, can learn
to identify genuine wines. To do that, they can learn from an experienced
expert like Rosa.”
Export Manager for Settecani and Fina Wineries, Roberto
Cardinale, also noted the rising appreciation of wine in Nigeria. “The
appreciation is growing, and the level of wines consumed and appreciated is
getting higher and higher. Nigerians returning from abroad are used to drinking
some of the best wines abroad, and they want to experience the same thing,” he
said.
The issue of counterfeit wines in Nigeria has drawn
regulatory attention. In January, the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control shut down a market in Abia State, destroying fake
wines and beverages worth N750 million. The agency’s Director-General, Mojisola
Adeyeye, described the operation as a decisive effort to curb the circulation
of substandard and harmful products.
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