Tuscany and a million bottles of bogus high-prestige wines

I wonder whar's really in those bottles?

• A taste for scandal in Italy's Tuscany wine region - Tuscany, home to many of Italy's best-known wines, may be in danger of tarnishing its reputation with a series of wine-related scandals. ... The region's wine industry, which produces about 180 million bottles of wine per year, has been rocked in recent months. One winemaker near the Tuscan coast planted a type of grape prohibited in the area and got kicked out of the local Val di Cornia designation in November. A few weeks before that, a major Tuscan wine collector was arrested for trying to sell bottles of bogus high-prestige wines as legitimate. Even bigger, more than a million bottles of low-quality wine — enough to fill half an Olympic-size swimming pool — were seized in two separate busts in September and October. Most of it was destined to be sold under some of Tuscany's best-known labels, including Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, according to Italian media. In May, another 30,000 bottles falsely labeled as Brunello and other top Tuscan wines — such as Chianti, Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano — were seized just before being shipped to foreign markets, including the United States.
• Nine people choke to death eating mochi rice cakes in Japan - "Japan’s habitual New Year killer has struck again, after nine people were reported to have died in recent days from choking on rice cakes. Mochi – glutinous cakes of pounded rice – are traditionally eaten in vast quantities over the holidays, usually in soup, or toasted and served with sweet soy sauce and wrapped in dried seaweed. Several people die eating the starchy delicacy every January, but this year the number is particularly high."
• Western Rock Lobster management changes boost stocks and increase profits - "A management overhaul of Australia's most lucrative fishery, the Western Rock Lobster, has boosted the numbers of the crustaceans off the WA coast and resulted in an increase in profits. A Department of Fisheries study compared the previous control measures based on limitations on the length of the fishing season and the number of boats on the water with a new quota system. ... The beach price for an average sized rock lobster was between $70-$74 last month."
• KFC applies for liquor licence for a new outlet in Parramatta
• Alcohol taxes protective against binge drinking, study shows - "Higher alcohol taxes strongly protect against binge drinking, according to a new study by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers. ... The study, published in the journal Addiction, found that a one-percent increase in alcohol beverage prices from taxes was associated with a 1.4 percent decrease in the proportion of adults who binge drink. Most previous studies have examined the effect of taxes on average consumption, while the effect of taxes on high-level drinking has been controversial."
• On the eve of the Epiphany, water becomes wine - Folk legends express profound truths about life and death, grace and happiness