Women Wine Critics Board

Inside a Wine Scam

Ever get one of those annoying scam emails asking you to accept stolen credit card numbers and send your product overseas?  Who are these scam artists?  Who are their victims?  Can they be stopped?

Dover Canyon Winery has just published a five-part series of articles called Inside a Wine Scam.  The series has resulted in FBI subpoenas for the operators accepting money transfers at a remote location in Oklahoma.  In a surprising twist, the 'front man' for the scam may herself be a victim of 'work from home' fraud. 

Part I: How the Wine Scam Works

Part II: The 'John Nelson' Letters

Part III: 'It Ain't TV, Lady'

Part IV: Who's in Your Wallet?

Part V: The Worm Turns

Update: Money Orders

Wine, Women and Lawsuits

Errol at Washington Winemaker in Bellevue, Washington relates the story of three women winemakers being threatened by the U.S. Olympic Committee for daring to use the name 'Olympic Cellars' for their winery, which is located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State'. 

Gee fellas, I think the Olympic Mountain range has been around longer than your trademark.  The mountain range name was made official in 1864 and was in common and published use before that. 

Make Benefit Glorious Zinfandel

"Consumer Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Zinfandel Future"

Christian Miller, owner of Full Glass Research—a wine industry research firm—chose this title for a presentation he gave in Paso Robles as a joking reference to the movie Borat.  (See the movie's wine episode here.) And it’s pretty appropriate, because depending on who you talk to, zinfandel means different things to different people. There’s an almost Babel-like confusion involved in the language of zinfandel.

Some people expect jammy wines. Some people expect spice and pepper. Some people don’t like it because they don’t know what to expect. Only 17% of hard core wine geeks would drink zinfandel with a "gourmet dinner at home," but 51% of the same group agree that zinfandel "complements a wide variety of food."

Zin winemakers reported that direct-to-consumer sales were the most important part of their marketing. But according to the study, consumers want to see more zinfandel in restaurants. One of the significant findings of the study was a difference in trade perception vs. consumer perception. In other words, wine drinkers are not seeing what they want on restaurant lists—versatile, food-friendly zinfandels.

Gunman Crashes Party, Leaves with Wine

Christina Rowan of Washington DC thought quickly and calmly when a gunman crashed a backyard barbecue and held a gun to a 14-year-old girl's head.  Moments later, the gunman left with a glass of wine and a smile.  Read the whole story.

From an AP newswire published on MSNBC

WASHINGTON - Police on Capitol Hill are baffled by an attempted robbery that began with a handgun put to the head of a teenager and ended in a group hug.

It started about midnight on June 16 when a group of friends was finishing a dinner of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp on the back patio of a District of Columbia home. That's when a hooded man slid through an open gate and pointed a handgun at the head of a 14-year-old girl.

"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he said, according to D.C. police and witnesses.

Tennessee Hypocrisy

As many of you know, one of the rallying cries of the anti-wine-shipping crowd has been "Protect Our Minors!"

In 2003, when the Federal Trade Commission first presented its study on the anti-commerce nature of shipping bans, the Tennessean published an article supporting open shipping laws.  But the article also conceded that:

"Whether Tennessee will follow suit is questionable, in large part because the state's politically powerful liquor wholesalers lobby has long supported the ban. John Jones, the chairman of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, is another in favor of the current ban and is doubtful it will go away anytime soon.

Like many supporters of the ban, Jones said he is concerned the state would lose tax revenues if it allowed direct shipments of alcohol. He also is concerned that allowing direct shipments could make the products more available to minors."

Four years later, the ban is still in place.  And now steps are being taken to protect the minors of Tennessee from illegal purchases of alcohol.  Beginning on Sunday, all residents of Tennessee will be carded when they attempt to buy 'alcohol' according to a recent AP release.

"NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Comer Wilson hasn't had to show his ID to buy beer in a while. Maybe it's the 66-year-old man's long white beard. Starting Sunday, gray hair won't be good enough. Wilson and everyone else will be required to show identification before buying beer in Tennessee stores — no matter how old the buyer appears. "

In Harmony with the Land

Contributed by Katy Budge, freelance writer

During her presentation at the recent Hospice du Rhone event held in Paso Robles, California, Sophie Armenier of Domaine de Marcoux in Châteauneuf-du-Pape showed a striking close-up photograph of two hands, side-by-side, each holding a handful of dirt. One hand held a soil so fecund you could smell its earthiness; the other hand held a soil that could best be described as beige. Armenier did not elaborate on the image, but luckily, moderator Kelly McAuliffe pressed her on exactly what we were seeing.

Because it wasn’t part of the formal presentation she had prepared in her very able English, Armenier offered the information in French for McAuliffe to translate. My French was good enough for me to realize that these soils were from two different nearby vineyards, but I missed the kicker. The dark soil was from Domaine de Marcoux’ organically and biodynamically farmed vineyard, the other was from only five yards away.

Cover crops, in photo at right, at Wild Horse Vineyards in Templeton, California.