The Italian government has agreed to guarantee the authenticity of Brunello wine, which will permit it to be exported to the United States. This became necessary because four major vintners are under investigation in Tuscany for possibly blending the wine with other grape varietal, which is a violation of Italian law.

According to a story being published in tomorrow's Chicago Tribune, Italy's Agricultural Ministry will send a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday, guaranteeing that bottles of wine labeled brunello are made entirely from Sangiovese grapes.

It is unusuall for the Italian government to issue such a guarantee because that task is usually left to the regional wine authority. This shows how serious the Italian government is taking the matter. Brunello, which comes from the Tuscan region, is considered one of Italy's premier wines. In fact, the Italian government has impounded at least 1 million bottles already.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Alcoholo and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau will not let the wine into the United States if the label is misleading. With Italy's struggling economy, the Italian government did not want to risk a U.S. ban on brunello. I expect Italian prosecutors are going to move fast to put an end to any vintners illegally blending their brunello.

Wine growers throw stones at riot police after a demonstration in Montpellier, southern France Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Wine growers demonstrate for a better income. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Those crazy French vintners. This is what socialism and an overreliance on government aid does to people. They don't know how to live when faced with obstacles:

Winemaker protests in France

MONTPELLIER, France (AP) -- Winemakers in southern France have burned two police cars and vandalized supermarkets during protests to demand government aid.

Vintners in France's Languedoc-Roussillon region have been protesting plummeting prices for their regional wines as well as rising fuel costs.

Top regional official Cyrille Schott says protesters broke windows at the courthouse in the city of Montpellier. In nearby Montagnac, protesters wielding baseball bats chased police from their vehicles and set the cars on fire.

Schott says protesters damaged four bank buildings.

At three regional supermarkets they sacked the wine aisles. Schott says two police were slightly injured in the protests Wednesday and early Thursday.

As the title indicates, this is going to be a blog about wine. And, maybe, I might talk about specialty beers as well.

I love wine, Chianti being one of my favorites.

If you are looking for a technical Web site about wine, this is not it. I will be delivering some news and some personal reviews of wines I drink.

This is a personal blog, so I don't expect to update too often, just when time permits and the mood strikes.

So have a look around and enjoy the new blog. Feel free to comment, as well. The same login should work for all my blogs.

Salute!