traderjoes.comWinos, it may be time to avert your eyes. This information could ruin your whole day weekend.
According to CBS, a new study revealed that some of the most popular wine brands might actually contain high levels of arsenic. Since there are almost no labeling requirements for consumer wine, a Denver laboratory called BeverageGrades decided to find out what's really in the drink. They tested 1,300 bottles of wine and found that almost a quarter had arsenic levels higher than the EPA limit for drinking water.
Now we know what you're thinking: That arsenic is in some obscure, shiesty bottle of wine. Well, no. Among the bottles with alarmingly high arsenic were the beloved Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck (the White Zinfandel specifically) and Franzia White Grenache, clocking in at three and five times the EPA limit, respectively. The study concluded that the lower the price of the wine, the greater the likelihood for dangerous amounts of arsenic. A sad revelation, indeed.
There is a silver lining, however. As The Wine Group, a popular wine distributor, pointed out to CBS, the EPA's arsenic limits apply only to drinking water. After all, (most) people drink way more water than wine, so those measurements don't apply the same to booze as they do to water. Of course, for those of you who subsist on a daily bottle of Two Buck Chuck, you might need to be a little more concerned.
So, what does this mean for oenophiles? The study's researchers have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to have the offending wines recalled or properly labeled, but in the meantime it wouldn't hurt to splurge a little bit on your next bottle of vino.