Lawsuit Claims Some Top Selling Wines Contain Very High Levels of Arsenic

Lawsuit Claims Some Top Selling Wines Contain Very High Levels of Arsenic

So what exactly is it you're drinking in your favorite wine? CBS News reports that a class action lawsuit is being filed in California that claims some of the top selling wines in the United States have high levels of arsenic. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports that the levels may approach four and five times the maximum amount the Environmental Protection Agency) allows for drinking water.

Kevin Hicks was a 15 year veteran of the wine distribution business before he started BeverageGrades, a laboratory that analyzes wine. Hicks tested more than 1,300 bottles of wine. Almost a quarter of them had levels higher than the EPA's maximum allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water: 10 parts per billion.

Hicks said...

Some very, very high levels of arsenic. The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic. Most wine companies, when I mention arsenic and wine in the same sentence, literally almost hung up the phone on me.

Hicks then took his data to a law firm. Hicks now plans to file a class action lawsuit in California accusing more than 24 California winemakers and sellers of misrepresenting their wine as safe. According to Patch.com the wines listed in the suit are...

  1. Acronym’s GR8RW Red Blend 2011
  2. Almaden’s Heritage White Zinfandel
  3. Almaden’s Heritage Moscato
  4. Almaden’s Heritage White Zinfandel
  5. Almaden’s Heritage Chardonnay
  6. Almaden’s Mountain Burgundy
  7. Almaden’s Mountain Rhine
  8. Almaden’s Mountain Chablis
  9. Arrow Creek’s Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
  10. Bandit’s Pinot Grigio
  11. Bandit’s Chardonnay
  12. Bandit’s Cabernet Sauvignon
  13. Bay Bridge’s Chardonnay
  14. Beringer’s White Merlot 2011
  15. Beringer’s White Zinfandel 2011
  16. Beringer’s Red Moscato
  17. Beringer’s Refreshingly Sweet Moscato
  18. Charles Shaw White Zinfandel 2012
  19. Colores del Sol’s Malbec 2010
  20. Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen REserve Pinot Grigio 2012
  21. Concannon’s Selected Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011
  22. Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen Reserve Merlot 2010
  23. Cook’s Spumante
  24. Corbett Canyon’s Pinot Grigio
  25. Corbett Canyon’s Cabernet Sauvignon
  26. Cupcake’s Malbec 2011
  27. Fetzer’s Moscato 2010
  28. Fetzer’s Pinot Grigio 2011
  29. Fisheye Pinot Grigio 2012
  30. Flipflop’s Pinot Grigio 2012
  31. Flipflop’s Moscato
  32. Flipflop’s Cabernet Sauvignon
  33. Foxhorn’s White Zinfandel
  34. Franzia’s Vintner Select White Grenache
  35. Franzia’s Vintner Select White Zinfandel
  36. Franzia’s Vintner Select White Merlot
  37. Franzia’s Vintner Select Burgundy
  38. Hawkstone’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
  39. HRM Rex Goliath’s Moscato
  40. Korbel’s Sweet Rose Sparkling Wine
  41. Korbel’s Extra Dry Sparkling Wine
  42. Menage a Trois’ Pinot Grigio 2011
  43. Menage a Trois’ Moscato 2010
  44. Menage a Trois’ White Blend 2011
  45. Menage a Trois’ Chardonnay 2011
  46. Menage a Trois’ Rose 2011
  47. Menage a Trois’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
  48. Menage a Trois’ California Red Wine 2011
  49. Mogen David’s Concord
  50. Mogen David’s Blackberry Wine
  51. Oak Leaf’s White Zinfandel
  52. Pomelo’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011
  53. R Collection by Raymond’s Chardonnay 2012
  54. Richards Wild Irish Rose’s Red Wine
  55. Seaglass’s Sauvignon Blanc 2012
  56. Simply Naked’s Moscato 2011
  57. Smoking Loon’s Viognier 2011
  58. Sutter Home’s Sauvignon Blanc 2010
  59. Sutter Home’s Gewurztraminer 2011
  60. Sutter Home’s Pink Moscato
  61. Sutter Home’s Pinot Grigio 2011
  62. Sutter Home’s Moscato
  63. Sutter Home’s Chenin Blanc 2011
  64. Sutter Home’s Sweet Red 2010
  65. Sutter Home’s Riesling 2011
  66. Sutter Home’s White Merlot 2011
  67. Sutter Home’s Merlot 2011
  68. Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel 2011
  69. Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel 2012
  70. Sutter Home’s Zinfandel 2010
  71. Trapiche’s Malbec 2012
  72. Tribuno’s Sweet Vermouth
  73. Vendange’s Merlot
  74. Vendange’s White Zinfandel
  75. Wine Cube’s Moscato
  76. Wine Cube’s Pink Moscato 2011
  77. Wine Cube’s Pinot Grigio 2011
  78. Wine Cube’s Pinot Grigio
  79. Wine Cube’s Chardonnay 2011
  80. Wine Cube’s Chardonnay
  81. Wine Cube’s Red Sangria
  82. Wine Cube’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011
  83. Wine Cube’s Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2011

 

Note: Any wines listed without specific years are non-vintage, meaning the grapes used did not come from a single year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Articles

More From WPDH-WPDA