diff --git a/wheel/bdist_wheel.py b/wheel/bdist_wheel.py
index e324a4a6..d6cfa2f3 100644
--- a/wheel/bdist_wheel.py
+++ b/wheel/bdist_wheel.py
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ def finalize_options(self):
         wheel = self.distribution.get_option_dict('wheel')
         if 'universal' in wheel:
             # please don't define this in your global configs
+            logger.warn('The [wheel] section is deprecated. Use [bdist_wheel] instead.')
             val = wheel['universal'][1].strip()
             if val.lower() in ('1', 'true', 'yes'):
                 self.universal = True