Rumblings in the Wine World: The Brunello di Montalcino Wine Scandal

It has been a little under two weeks since Italy announced the findings in the Brunello di Montalcino scandal.

In case you haven’t been following this case, Italian authorities — prompted by the United States — started an investigation to find out whether some renowned manufacturers of Brunello di Montalcino were making their wines with a blend of grapes instead of 100% Sangiovese.

“Operazione Mixed Wine” found that five wineries – Antinori, Argiano, Banfi, Casanova di Neri and Marchese de Frescobaldi – were in fact mixing wines.

Vinowire, a blog that has been following the whole controversy, has posted notes on the fallout from its editor Franco Ziliani. You can read a translation here or check out Ziliani’s Vino al Vino blog for the original Italian.

Because of its high price tag, I don’t have many chances to indulge in Brunello. But it’s fascinating – and enraging, really – to think that the imported Brunello I have enjoyed wasn’t truly the real thing.

I wonder what other Italian wineries and foodstuff producers are cutting corners? See A Slippery Business for another unfortunate example.

Photo by O. Strama

Post first published on August 18, 2009