Free Republic

FRONT ROYAL, Va., March 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- Do you drink wine? Millions of people do, but most are unaware of the fact that many winemakers give financial support to Planned Parenthood, the world's leading pro-abortion behemoth. "I like a glass of wine every now and then," said Thomas C. Strobhar, chairman of Life Decisions International. "I am appalled that so many winemakers fund the Culture of Death. I urge my fellow pro-life activists to let winemakers know that they have a 'choice.' They may continue to fund Planned Parenthood and lose a lot of business to competitors or they...

US winemakers seek to reduce alcohol content By Tom Leonard, in New York Last Updated: 2:47am GMT 11/01/2008 Winemakers in California are attempting to reduce the alcohol level in their notoriously powerful reds and whites. Californian "monster" wines regularly contain 15% vol alcohol and some are as high as 17%, alarming some of their own producers despite the praise of critics. The winemakers have responded by picking grapes earlier and employing other tactics designed to produce the more "balanced", lower alcohol wines that are popular in Europe. They say the move has in part been prompted by demand from American...

Joseph Edward Gallo Jr., who broke from his winemaking family to make cheese and then waged a high-profile spat with his famous brothers over use of the Gallo name, has died. He was 87. Gallo died Feb. 17 at his home in Livingston of a longtime illness, Donna Bradley, a spokeswoman for Joseph Farms, said Thursday. Joseph Gallo was born Sept. 11, 1919, in Antioch, the youngest brother in a family of winemakers. His two older brothers, Ernest and Julio Gallo, would later start E&J Gallo Winery, now the world's largest wine producer. Joseph Gallo graduated from Modesto High School...

Eliette Montosson surveyed the rolling vineyard where her family has produced its Pays d'Oc wine for as far back as anyone can remember. "It's bad, very very bad. The situation is desperate," said the silver-haired 68-year-old, who tends the rows of gnarled vines for 10 hours each day. "We've had some of these vines for 20 years but now they've got to go." On Wednesday Mrs Montosson and thousands of other winemakers will take to the streets of southern France to highlight a crisis they claim is driving them into crippling debt - and, in some tragic cases, suicide. In...

French wine exports are in their sixth successive year of decline. Thousands of winemakers have staged protests in the streets of France to demand government help over falling exports and a slump in domestic sales. Demonstrators in Avignon, Bordeaux, Macon, Angers, Nantes and other towns rallied behind black-draped tractors. They blame over-production, shrinking exports and a government campaign against alcohol abuse for what union leaders call a "crisis" in winemaking. France's agriculture ministry said it would meet industry leaders next week. The unions want the government to provide money for farmers wishing to move from vines to other crops and...