Posted on 02/17/2010 10:30:27 PM PST by nickcarraway
E&J Gallo being hoodwinked by French vignerons is funny and depressing, but not surprising
The news of E&J Gallo, the world's biggest single wine producer, being hoodwinked by a group of errant French vignerons is funny and depressing at the same time. It isn't, however, surprising.
The comedy comes from Gallo's clumsy attempt to ride the post-Sideways pinot noir craze by peddling Red Bicyclette as an authentic French pinot when it turned out to be anything but. It doesn't say much for Gallo's professionalism that its buyers couldn't tell the different between pinot, merlot and shiraz.
It is a sad truth, however, that there is a lot of fake wine out there. We're not talking here about bottles of first growth Bordeaux that may or may not have belonged to Thomas Jefferson (wines auctioned as such for over $100,000 are currently the subject of court cases in the US). While sophisticated counterfeit bottles are a growing cause for concern at the top end of the market, wine fakery is just as common lower down the chain.
Italy is the prime exponent – to such an extent that, in 2007, 25 police officers qualified as sommeliers in order to combat the problem. For years a blind eye was turned to the containers of gutsy wine from the south making its way to the more rarefied north – Tuscany, Piedmont and Verona.
SNIP
Ultimately, though, nothing will ever compare to the taste of the Bolivian "wine" discovered by customs officials in Bulgaria last year. The content of the bottles? Liquid cocaine.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Well I know less than little about wines as generally go with what’s being served on special occassions. However I am told it is healthy to drink wine every day for the heart and a host of other reasons.
I would like to begin this but have not a clue where to begin. The liquor store was quite overwhelming. And how much is recommended?
My taste is red wine and generally sweet. Any suggestions??
I keep my wine down in the cellar. 55-65F is about the temp.
Red wine contains resveratrol, which is good for a host of things. My doctor suggested a glass with dinner; generally I have between 4-6 ounces. Sometimes I don’t finish it, sometimes I do.
A bit on the spendy side but, a Valpolicella Amarone is one of my faves.
Thank you Judith Anne....what might be a nice red wine leaning toward the sweeter side?
Oops. Don’t tell him I busted him.
Really inexpensive very sweet red wine: Mogen David. They make a blackberry wine, too, that is very sweet. Sherries are on the sweet side, mostly. Harvey’s Bristol Creme is one that I like, on the rocks. Mogen David over vanilla ice cream with strawberries is a great dessert!
Perfecto!
Yes, part is concrete, part is dirt, it’s always quite cool down there.
From your description it sounds like your brother was making Muscadine wine. They grow wild in the south and are also cutivated. Muscadine wines are usually sweet. I have had my share of these wines. They can be very good!
That’s why I stick to South Georgia homemade peach and muscadine.
Actually, Brut means it's on the drier end of the sweetness scale. It is not a designation for a wine as such.
I’ll take ol’ Charlie Shaw over 90% of the Roo Juice Fruit Bombs from Australia. Anything with a Kangaroo or Boomerang on the bottle must be avoided, Yellow Tail being the worst.
Good advice. Thanks !!!
Last time down under was in late 80’s. To Alice Springs for some training.
I don’t even remember wine on the shelf there......:o)
Being raised on the east coast, my tastes in wine are rather Eurocentric, although I do love Sav Blanc from New Zealand (Cloudy Bay and Jackson Estate especially).
My Dad just rolled over in his grave.
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