Arsenic in Wine | Trader Joe’s Wine a Possible Culprit

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You Might Be Getting More Than You Bargained For in that Bargain Wine | Arsenic in Wine

Some pretty unfortunate allegations were brought by a seemingly credible source yesterday when a class action lawsuit was filed against 28 California wineries including: Sutter Home, Cupcake, Franzia, Beringer, and the ubiquitous poster child for cheap Trader Joe’s wine – Charles Shaw (aka Two Buck Chuck). The lawsuit claims that these wineries knowingly sold wines that contain up to 500% more arsenic than is legally permissible.

Source of the Allegations | Arsenic in Wine

A former wine distributor by the name of Kevin Hicks has asked the important and often unanswered question of what is in that bottle of wine that we’re drinking. He founded the firm BeverageGrades, a Denver based laboratory which analyzes wine. He recently tested 1,300 bottles of wine and found that about a quarter of those wines contained higher levels of arsenic than the EPA allows in drinking water.

The Cheaper the Wine the Higher the Levels of Toxic Arsenic | Arsenic in Wine

In conducting his testing, Hicks made an observation that is especially disconcerting. He noted that “The lower the price of the wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic.” This means that the problems is likely reaching millions of Americans as these mass-produced wines are by far the most widely-consumed brands – due to their popularity and accessible prices.

A key argument in the lawsuit is that the producers of inexpensive wines are not implementing the proper procedures to reduce inorganic arsenic in their wines, which contributes to their ability to sell them at a lower price. Whether or not these allegations are accurate, hopefully there will be more transparency with what’s actually in our bottles of wine.

Wines Brands That Might Contain Arsenic | Arsenic in Wine

**UPDATE: The lawsuit was deemed to have no merit and dropped by the Los Angeles Superior Court on March 23, 2016. You can visit this article by The Wine Institute for further details on why these claims are entirely unfounded. It’s safe to drink wine! (In moderation, that is…)

For Reference: A list of wines currently available in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section.

While I wouldn’t normally advise you to avoid wine, in this instance it might be best to err on the side of caution. Hopefully further investigation will show that these wines do not in fact contain high levels of arsenic, but until then the following are the alleged wines:

• Acronym’s GR8RW Red Blend 2011
• Almaden’s Heritage White Zinfandel
• Almaden’s Heritage Moscato
• Almaden’s Heritage White Zinfandel
• Almaden’s Heritage Chardonnay
• Almaden’s Mountain Burgundy
• Almaden’s Mountain Rhine
• Almaden’s Mountain Chablis
• Arrow Creek’s Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
• Bandit’s Pinot Grigio
• Bandit’s Chardonnay
• Bandit’s Cabernet Sauvignon
• Bay Bridge’s Chardonnay
• Beringer’s White Merlot 2011
• Beringer’s White Zinfandel 2011
• Beringer’s Red Moscato
• Beringer’s Refreshingly Sweet Moscato
• Charles Shaw White Zinfandel 2012 (A Trader Joe’s Wine)
• Colores del Sol’s Malbec 2010
• Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen REserve Pinot Grigio 2012
• Concannon’s Selected Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011
• Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen Reserve Merlot 2010
• Cook’s Spumante
• Corbett Canyon’s Pinot Grigio
• Corbett Canyon’s Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cupcake’s Malbec 2011
• Fetzer’s Moscato 2010
• Fetzer’s Pinot Grigio 2011
• Fisheye Pinot Grigio 2012
• Flipflop’s Pinot Grigio 2012
• Flipflop’s Moscato
• Flipflop’s Cabernet Sauvignon
• Foxhorn’s White Zinfandel
• Franzia’s Vintner Select White Grenache
• Franzia’s Vintner Select White Zinfandel
• Franzia’s Vintner Select White Merlot
• Franzia’s Vintner Select Burgundy
• Hawkstone’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
• HRM Rex Goliath’s Moscato
• Korbel’s Sweet Rose Sparkling Wine
• Korbel’s Extra Dry Sparkling Wine
• Menage a Trois’ Pinot Grigio 2011
• Menage a Trois’ Moscato 2010
• Menage a Trois’ White Blend 2011
• Menage a Trois’ Chardonnay 2011
• Menage a Trois’ Rose 2011
• Menage a Trois’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
• Menage a Trois’ California Red Wine 2011
• Mogen David’s Concord
• Mogen David’s Blackberry Wine
• Oak Leaf’s White Zinfandel
• Pomelo’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011
• R Collection by Raymond’s Chardonnay 2012
• Richards Wild Irish Rose’s Red Wine
• Seaglass’s Sauvignon Blanc 2012
• Simply Naked’s Moscato 2011
• Smoking Loon’s Viognier 2011
• Sutter Home’s Sauvignon Blanc 2010
• Sutter Home’s Gewurztraminer 2011
• Sutter Home’s Pink Moscato
• Sutter Home’s Pinot Grigio 2011
• Sutter Home’s Moscato
• Sutter Home’s Chenin Blanc 2011
• Sutter Home’s Sweet Red 2010
• Sutter Home’s Riesling 2011
• Sutter Home’s White Merlot 2011
• Sutter Home’s Merlot 2011
• Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel 2011
• Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel 2012
• Sutter Home’s Zinfandel 2010
• Trapiche’s Malbec 2012
• Tribuno’s Sweet Vermouth
• Vendange’s Merlot
• Vendange’s White Zinfandel
• Wine Cube’s Moscato
• Wine Cube’s Pink Moscato 2011
• Wine Cube’s Pinot Grigio 2011
• Wine Cube’s Pinot Grigio
• Wine Cube’s Chardonnay 2011
• Wine Cube’s Chardonnay
• Wine Cube’s Red Sangria
• Wine Cube’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011
• Wine Cube’s Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2011

**Note: If no vintage is listed, then the grapes used to make this particular wine were harvested in more than one year.

**UPDATE: The lawsuit was deemed to have no merit and dropped by the Los Angeles Superior Court on March 23, 2016. You can visit this article by The Wine Institute for further details on why these claims are entirely unfounded. It’s safe to drink wine! (In moderation, that is… )