And you though that you were drinking Pinot Noir, damn those French!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Many wine companies have a number of labels other than their main one, and E & J Gallo is no exception with their Red Bicyclette.  I myself like their Chardonnay.  However, as it turns out, what was being marketed as Pinot Noir was made from some other less expensive grapes.  In fact, between 2006 and 2008 some 18 million bottles of fake Pinot Noir were produced [and probably most of them sold].  But, the French folks behind it were convicted and heavily fined.  

I also did the liberty of checking some other sites to see their reviews (this is why it’s best to stay away from blogs folks, as well as sites that have a lot of other people rating wines; shout out to temp1234 on snooth.com for knowing that it was a fake).  Here are the funny ones:  

• http://corkd.com/wine/view/66720-2007-red-bicyclette-pinot-noir
• http://www.expotv.com/Red-Bicyclette-Pinot-Noir/1V-1dIH
• http://www.snooth.com/wine/red-bicyclette-pinot-noir/  

Hopefully, I myself won't get deceived so easily, but with all of the people out there trying to make a quick buck and preying on innocence, I am sure that someone will pass me something and claim that it’s something else entirely.