Winebits 744: Winery lawsuits, Portuguese wine, neo-Prohibitonists

This week’s wine news: Esther Mobley explains why wineries sue each other, plus Portuguese wine may be ready for the big time and we’ll all get fat if we drink wine

• Bring on the lawsuits: Esther Mobley, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, explains why there are so many winery lawsuits: “All the good [names] have been taken, basically. And don’t even think about coming up with a name that sounds similar to an existing wine. You’ll be fighting a court battle in no time.” Which, of course, is grist for the Wine Curmudgeon’s wine press; intellectual property, baby! The story describes what seems to be the never-ending glut of wineries suing each other, and her analysis seems to be spot on.

• Portuguese wine: The WC has long wondered why Portuguese wine isn’t more popular, given its quality, value and often stunningly low prices. Now, Oz Clarke, the British wine expert, says Portuguese wine’s time is here. He told a London wine tasting that “Portugal is a country that said, ‘we don’t need Cabernet to prove our worth. We don’t need Chardonnay and Sauvignon to try and squeeze our way into a crowded marketplace.’ ” A man after the WC’s heart, yes? The caveat here is that Clarke said these things at an event sponsored by the Portuguese wine trade group. Still, his point is well taken for those of us looking for wine that hasn’t been focus-grouped to death.

• Fat, fat, fat: Drink wine and gain 14 pounds — or even more. That’s the result of a study conducted by a group called DrugAbuse.com, which should tell us all we need to know about how legitimate the survey is. I mention it here, despite the blog’s usual ban on these stories, because it assumes that no one can drink wine in moderation and that drinking wine is as bad as stuffing your face with fast food. Note to the neos: I have not had anything from McDonald’s in decades. How does that survey?