Update, 3/20/15: Wine industry groups have begun to contest the lawsuit's contentions and motive. The California wine trade group, the Wine Institute, released a statement saying, "While there are no established limits in the U.S., several countries, including the European Union, have established limits of 100 parts per billion or higher for wine. California wine exports are tested by these governments and are below the established limits." A representative of The Wine Group, one of the defendants, says that the plaintiffs "decided to file a complaint based on misleading and selective information in order to defame responsible California winemakers, create unnecessary fear, and distort and deceive the public for their own financial gain." Before you go out drinking tonight, a quick note on cheap wine: Yesterday, a class-action lawsuit was filed against 28 California wineries—including the creators of Trader Joes' Charles Shaw (a.k.a. "Two-Buck Chuck"), Sutter Home's, and Franzia, Beringer, and Cupcake—alleging that some varietals of their wines contain dangerously high levels of arsenic.

According to the complaint, three independent laboratories tested the wines and found that some contained levels of arsenic "up to 500% or more than what is what is considered the maximum acceptable safe daily intake limit. Put differently, just a glass or two of these arsenic-contaminated wines a day over time could result in dangerous arsenic toxicity to the consumer." The origins of the lawsuit draw back to Kevin Hicks, a former wine distributor who started BeverageGrades, a Denver-based lab that analyzes wine. The lab tested 1,300 bottles of California wine, and found that about a quarter of them had higher levels of arsenic than the maximum limit that the Environmental Protection Agency allows in water. Hicks noticed a trend: As he told CBS, "The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic." Trader Joe's Charles Shaw White Zinfandel came in at three times the EPA's level, while Franzia's White Grenache was five times higher. The lawsuit alleges that the contaminated wines are cheaper in part because their producers don't "implement the proper methods and processes to reduce inorganic arsenic."

A spokesperson for The Wine Group, one of the defendants, says that it's not "accurate or responsible to use the water standard as the baseline," as people drink more water than wine. But water is the only beverage with an arsenic baseline that is monitored by the US government, and the defendants stress that the chemical is toxic even in small doses, and is known to cause cancer and "contributes to a host of other debilitating/fatal diseases."best bottle of red wine 2015 Trader Joe's told CBS that "the concerns raised in your inquiry are serious and are being treated as such. best wine for white meatWe are investigating the matter with several of our wine producing suppliers." best place to buy wine in san diegoA spokesperson for Treasury Wine Estates, another defendant, said that its "brands are fully compliant with all relevant federal and state guidelines."

Whether or not you should be worried about the allegations is up in the air, particularly as the lawsuit has yet to go before a judge or jury. But in the meantime, here's a list of wines that are included in the lawsuit. (Note: Any wines without a specific year listed mean that the grapes don't come from a single year.) Acronym GR8RW Red Blend 2011 Almaden Heritage White Zinfandel Arrow Creek Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Beringer White Merlot 2011 Beringer White Zinfandel 2011 Beringer Refreshingly Sweet Moscato Charles Shaw White Zinfandel 2012 Colores del Sol Malbec 2010 Glen Ellen by Concannon's Glen Ellen Reserve Pinot Grigio 2012 Concannon Selected Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011 Glen Ellen by Concannon's Glen Ellen Reserve Merlot 2010 Corbett Canyon Pinot Grigio Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Fetzer Pinot Grigio 2011 Fisheye Pinot Grigio 2012 Flipflop Pinot Grigio 2012 Franzia Vintner Select White Grenache

Franzia Vintner Select White Zinfandel Franzia Vintner Select White Merlot Franzia Vintner Select Burgundy Hawkstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 HRM Rex Goliath's Moscato Korbel Sweet Rose Sparkling Wine Korbel 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 Blackberry Wine Oak Leaf White Zinfandel Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc 2011 R Collection by Raymond's Chardonnay 2012 Richards Wild Irish Rose Red Wine Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Simply Naked Moscato 2011 Smoking Loon Viognier 2011 Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Sutter Home Gewurztraminer 2011 Sutter Home Pink Moscato Sutter Home Pinot Grigio 2011 Sutter Home Chenin Blanc 2011 Sutter Home Sweet Red 2010

Sutter Home Riesling 2011 Sutter Home White Merlot 2011 Sutter Home Merlot 2011 Sutter Home White Zinfandel 2011 Sutter Home White Zinfandel 2012 Sutter Home Zinfandel 2010 Wine Cube Pink Moscato 2011 Wine Cube Pinot Grigio 2011 Wine Cube Pinot Grigio Wine Cube Chardonnay 2011 Wine Cube Red Sangria Wine Cube Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2011When I sold my sailboat I met the buyers at an Italian restaurant to hand over the documents and accept the all-important envelope of cash. That's not a euphemism — they really did slide a white envelope across the table at me. It was stuffed so full of greenbacks it looked like a fluffy down pillow.Gosh, I miss that envelope. But that's not the point! The point is, they both ordered fried chicken. Question No. 1: Why would anyone order fried chicken in an Italian restaurant? Question No. 2: Why would an Italian restaurant offer fried chicken on its menu?

At the time, I could not imagine a logical answer to either question, but I will tell you this: When those crusty yard birds arrived, each with a lovely side of potatoes, they looked pretty decent.Rather than bolting with my pillow of cash, I waited until the new owners of my boat bit into their identical dinners so I could ask them how the chicken was. They both gave it the thumbs-up, and I walked out of that restaurant a little perplexed. Maybe they weren't so great at tasting. Maybe the chicken actually was good. But how could it be? I was younger then. I now realize that fried chicken can be good in an Italian restaurant because chicken is food and an Italian restaurant is … a place where culinary professionals prepare and serve food. "Stay open to possibilities," I've told myself since then. "Allow yourself to be surprised." This attitude is useful when considering the dry red wines of the Douro region in northern Portugal.Yes, this is where they grow the grapes that make legendary, fortified, sweet port wines.

And no, the wines we are talking about here are not the least bit sweet. And yes, port and non-port winemakers use a lot of the same grape varieties to make their wines, but the resulting wine styles are about as similar as a brother and sister can be. At a certain point the similarities end and the distinctions emerge most clearly. To return to the chicken incident, the bottom line is: What's good is good, no matter where it comes from, or where we least expect to find it. The Douro is best known for its steep terraced hills rising up from the banks of its namesake river (which is called the Duero in nearby Spain), and its hot summers. Most of the nondessert wines from the region are red and big and powerful. A lot of them are blends. They range from quite expensive to not so expensive to bona fide bargain-ish. We'll focus on the latter two categories here. There are dozens of grape varieties allowed in the Douro, including touriga nacional (the superstar of Portuguese wines), touriga franca, tinta roriz (known as tempranillo in its native Spain) and tinta barroca.

These four varieties make up the bulk of the wines I tasted recently.Look for large capital letters spelling PASSA on the label of the 2012 Quinta do Passadouro Passa Tinto ($15), which offers cherry, raspberry, cedar, a little smoke and a silky mouthfeel. Try it with pork or mushroom risotto, or just drink it on its own. The 2011 Casa Burmester Reserva ($25) is 40 percent touriga nacional, 40 percent touriga franca and 20 percent tinta roriz. Having spent considerable time in new French and American oak barrels, it delivers spicy red fruits and an oaky punch. Using the same three grape varieties but changing the percentages significantly gives the 2013 Jose Maria da Fonseca Domini ($16) the formidable essence of cedar, tobacco, plum and incense — an impressive wine for the price. Drink both of these wines with grilled red meats.There is a lot happening in a glass of 2012 Quinta da Manoella Tinto ($22), which starts with violets and moves into red and blue fruit, black pepper and oak before sliding into a pleasant blueberry finish — another really good wine for the price.

The easy-drinking 2013 Muxagat Vinhos Tinta Barroca ($20) is made of 100 percent tinta barroca that is fermented and aged in cement vats, offering cherry, incense, spice and a delightful lingering finish.Six different grapes varieties go into the 2009 Vista da Regua Vinhas Velhas ($32), all of them from old vines, or "vinhas velhas" in the local language. Classic cigar box aromas lead to flavors of dark fruits and black pepper. With grippy tannins and 15.5 percent alcohol, this wine could age nicely for another few years, but is perfectly ready to drink now.From the land of fortified dessert wines and red table wines, consider this last one a bonus, a reward for allowing yourself to be surprised. The 2012 Vertice Rose Vinho Espumante do Douro ($24) is a beautiful sparkling wine made of touriga franca and two white grapes (gouveio and malvasia fina) via the traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle. It offers brioche and anise with tiny, active bubbles that make it creamy yet crisp.