It’s amazing what lengths one particular wine producer has apparently gone to in order to be able once more to own a gun.
Gimme cheap grapes and a gun
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Under the heading ‘Winemaker loses bid for pardon, but offers case study in navigating the process’, the Miami Herald reported with some grudging admiration here recently on Fred T Franzia’s attempts to secure a last-ditch official presidential pardon from George W Bush for the grape fraud for which he was fined heavily in the mid 1990s.
The fraud case concerned disguising cheaper grapes by scattering more valuable Zinfandel grapes on top them. The Herald used the Freedom...
It’s amazing what lengths one particular wine producer has apparently gone to in order to be able once more to own a gun.
Become a member or log in to continue reading
This Mother’s Day, give the gift of great wine.
Mothering Sunday is 15 March – and a JancisRobinson.com gift membership is one of the most thoughtful presents you can give a wine lover.
For a limited time, get 20% off all annual gift memberships by entering promo code FORMUM26 at checkout. Offer ends 17 March.
Member
$135
/year
Ideal for wine enthusiasts
- Access 290,534 wine reviews & 15,947 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
Inner Circle
$249
/year
Ideal for collectors
- Access 290,534 wine reviews & 15,947 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
- Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
Professional
$299
/year
For individual wine professionals
- Access 290,534 wine reviews & 15,947 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
- Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
- Commercial use of up to 25 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Business
$399
/year
For companies in the wine trade
- Access 290,534 wine reviews & 15,947 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
- Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
- Commercial use of up to 250 wine reviews & scores for marketing
More Don't quote me
Don't quote me
A short month in London with just one sortie, to Barcelona for 48 hours. Nick took this picture of Jancis...
Don't quote me
Chris Howard contemplates the precarious balance of water, weather and vines in France’s Languedoc. Late summer sun beats down on...
Don't quote me
January is always a heavy month for professional wine tastings. This year Jancis fortified herself beforehand. 2026 got off to...
Don't quote me
Jet lag, a bad cold, but somehow an awful lot of good wine was enjoyed.
This diary is a double...
More from JancisRobinson.com
Tasting articles
124 wines reviewed, revealing assorted treasures buried in the far south-western corner of Australia. See also Visiting Great Southern. The...
Mission Blind Tasting
Time to put all the details together and take a stab at determining what’s in your glass. Now that you’ve...
Tasting articles
Proof that Rioja remains a terrific source of mature wines at excellent prices. Above, one of the vineyards of El...
Travel tips
Discovering Western Australia’s wine wilderness. Come back tomorrow for reviews of wines from Great Southern. Wherever you stand in the...
Tasting articles
Plus a selection of top-quality wines made at sufficient scale that they can be found the world over. Above, Juan...
Tasting articles
A focus on single-village, single-vineyard and single-variety Rioja. Above, Juan Carlos Sancha and his mule working the Cerro la Isa...
Nick on restaurants
A gem for wine lovers in London’s Soho. Just part of its giant wine list (temporarily stolen) is shown above...
Wine news in 5
Also news on Germany’s Henkell group buying out legendary Cava company Freixenet (pictured above) and lawsuits on France’s copper fungicide...