That’s the allegation in a lawsuit (read the complaint here — PDF) filed in California this week. The origins of the lawsuit draw back to Kevin Hicks, a former wine distributor who started BeverageGrades, a Denver-based lab that analyzes wine. The lab tested 1,300 bottles of California wine, and found that about a quarter of them had higher levels of arsenic than the maximum limit that the Environmental Protection Agency allows in water.
Now, it is important to keep in mind that this is a lawsuit, and it is entirely possible that this is essentially a nuisance lawsuit — one contrived by ambulance-chasing lawyers in order to get a quick shakedown of the wine companies involved, hoping that the companies would rather see this go away quickly than have to put up with years of bad publicity (even if they are vindicated in the end). So take that into account. But in the meantime, below the fold is a list of wines that are included in the lawsuit. (Note: Any wines without a specific year listed mean that the grapes don’t come from a single year.)
- Acronym GR8RW Red Blend 2011
- Almaden Heritage White Zinfandel
- Almaden Heritage Moscato
- Almaden Heritage White Zinfandel
- Almaden Heritage Chardonnay
- Almaden Mountain Burgundy
- Almaden Mountain Rhine
- Almaden Mountain Chablis
- Arrow Creek Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
- Bandit Pinot Grigio
- Bandit Chardonnay
- Bandit Cabernet Sauvignon
- Bay Bridge Chardonnay
- Beringer White Merlot 2011
- Beringer White Zinfandel 2011
- Beringer Red Moscato
- Beringer Refreshingly Sweet Moscato
- Charles Shaw White Zinfandel 2012
- Colores del Sol Malbec 2010
- Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen Reserve Pinot Grigio 2012
- Concannon Selected Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011
- Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen Reserve Merlot 2010
- Cook Spumante
- Corbett Canyon Pinot Grigio
- Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon
- Cupcake Malbec 2011
- Fetzer Moscato 2010
- Fetzer Pinot Grigio 2011
- Fisheye Pinot Grigio 2012
- Flipflop Pinot Grigio 2012
- Flipflop Moscato
- Flipflop Cabernet Sauvignon
- Foxhorn White Zinfandel
- Franzia Vintner Select White Grenache
- Franzia Vintner Select White Zinfandel
- Franzia Vintner Select White Merlot
- Franzia Vintner Select Burgundy
- Hawkstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
- HRM Rex Goliath’s Moscato
- Korbel Sweet Rose Sparkling Wine
- Korbel Extra Dry Sparkling Wine
- Menage a Trois Pinot Grigio 2011
- Menage a Trois Moscato 2010
- Menage a Trois White Blend 2011
- Menage a Trois Chardonnay 2011
- Menage a Trois Rose 2011
- Menage a Trois Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
- Menage a Trois California Red Wine 2011
- Mogen David Concord
- Mogen David Blackberry Wine
- Oak Leaf White Zinfandel
- Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc 2011
- R Collection by Raymond’s Chardonnay 2012
- Richards Wild Irish Rose Red Wine
- Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc 2012
- Simply Naked Moscato 2011
- Smoking Loon Viognier 2011
- Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc 2010
- Sutter Home Gewurztraminer 2011
- Sutter Home Pink Moscato
- Sutter Home Pinot Grigio 2011
- Sutter Home Moscato
- Sutter Home Chenin Blanc 2011
- Sutter Home Sweet Red 2010
- Sutter Home Riesling 2011
- Sutter Home White Merlot 2011
- Sutter Home Merlot 2011
- Sutter Home White Zinfandel 2011
- Sutter Home White Zinfandel 2012
- Sutter Home Zinfandel 2010
- Trapiche Malbec 2012
- Tribuno Sweet Vermouth
- Vendange Merlot
- Vendange White Zinfandel
- Wine Cube Moscato
- Wine Cube Pink Moscato 2011
- Wine Cube Pinot Grigio 2011
- Wine Cube Pinot Grigio
- Wine Cube Chardonnay 2011
- Wine Cube Chardonnay
- Wine Cube Red Sangria
- Wine Cube Sauvignon Blanc 2011
- Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2011