A court in France on Wednesday, February 17, found a group of 12 French wine producers and traders guilty of selling millions of bottles of fake Pinot Noir wine to U.S. wine-industry giant E. & J. Gallo Winery.
"The scale of the fraud caused severe damage for the wines of the Languedoc (region) for which the United States is an important outlet," the judge said while delivering the verdict. The judge in Carcassonne, south-west France handed out suspended jail terms and hefty fines to the defendants.

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New World Cabernet Sauvignon is big and in your face – my kind of Sunday afternoon wine. Deep in color and strong in flavors – expect black fruit (blackcurrant, black cherry) and oaky spice. A good Cab is deep in color, intense, full bodied and best poured with suitably powerful foods like a home-made Sunday roast or a meat feast pizza.
Perfect while you’re watching the Olympics on the tube; whether you’ve been sucked into curling or watching hockey.

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We seem to be living in an endless winter – but on the bright side, we still have a justifiable reason for cooking up a hearty stew and pulling the cork on some delicious winter-warming reds. Try these from the Dreadnought list:

Bravante Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Sylvester Syrah 2006
Yorkville Cellars 'Hi-Rollr' Red 2006
Mansfield Merlot 2004