Is there Arsenic in Your Texas Wine?

Perhaps you heard last week about the class action lawsuit, which claims dozens of California wineries produced wine with dangerously high levels of arsenic. It claimed 28 wineries knowingly violated California law and produced wine contaminated with arsenic and failed to inform consumers about the potential dangers.

Most of the wines listed in the lawsuit are low-cost white or blush varieties including Moscato, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc. Very popular brand names were part of the wineries listed.

Should you be concerned about your Texas wine?

Looking at the facts in the case, what they compared the wine against is the EPA threshold for acceptable amounts of arsenic in drinking water, which is 10 parts per billion. That’s right, the water you drink much more during the day has trace amounts of arsenic because it is a naturally occurring compound.

I started doing some research on arsenic in foods and other beverages like apple and pear juice, and came across an excellent article by Alder Yarrow of the wine blog Vinography. Why tell the same story when Alder has done a fantastic job detailing the facts and summarizing if you have anything to worry about. Please read his blog post for more details.

If you would like to read more details on the case, there is a good article on the CBS News website which sums up the information. In addition, it has a statement from Trinchero Family Estates that is one of the wineries mentioned in the lawsuit. You can read the full statement from the winery, but bottom line, they said, “Please be assured that the Trinchero family, as well as the California Wine Institute, dispute these claims and are actively pursuing all remedies to defend against the defamatory statements about our company and our products.”

So should you be concerned about arsenic in your Texas wine? As Alder Yarrow summed up, “Only as much as you currently worry about it in your apple juice or shellfish.”