Dangrously High Levels Of Arsenic Found In California’s Top Selling Wines, Claims Lawsuit

After 15 years working in the wine distribution business, Kevin Hicks started BeverageGrades, a laboratory that analyzes wine. What he discovered shocked him.

“Some very, very high levels of arsenic,” Hicks said.

He tested more than 1,300 bottles of wine. Almost a quarter of them had levels higher than the EPA’s maximum allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water: 10 parts per billion. No one can say for sure why, but Hicks noticed a pattern.

“The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic,” he said.

They included Trader Joe’s famed Two-Buck Chuck White Zinfandel, which came in at three times the limit, a bottle of Ménage à Trois Moscato was four times the limit and a Franzia White Grenache had five times the EPA limit for drinking water.

He took the test results to some of those wine companies.

“Most wine companies, when I mention arsenic and wine in the same sentence, literally almost hung up the phone on me,” he said.

• 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
• 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