Top 10 wine feuds of 2013

(TDB) - 10. Ysios sues Calatrava over dodgy roof

In April Bodegas Ysios in Rioja announced it was suing world renowned architect Santiago Calatrava for €2m over problems with an “undulating” roof he designed for the firm in 2001.

While the silver roof mirrors pleasantly reflected the mountainous landscape of Rioja Alavesa behind the winery, Bodegas Ysios claimed the clever design was unable to keep the wind and rain out.

The winery’s owner, Domecq Bodegas, said the building had “seriously deteriorated” in the 12 years since it opened, with temperature changes causing fixtures to tear and aluminium parts coming loose in strong winds.

9. Duckhorn sues over Duck Commander Range

Controversy broke out between Napa Valley-based winery Duckhorn and Trinchero Family Estates over an alleged trademark infringement over its Duck Commander wine range.

The Duck Commander brand was created by Trinchero in collaboration with the Louisiana-based Robertson family, who found fame in US reality TV show Duck Dynasty.

Duckhorn wants Trinchero to stop using the Duck Commander name and duck icon on its labels and pay compensation for the damage it has caused to its brand.

8. Wine fraudster jailed for seven years for cheating victims out of £4.5m

Daniel Snelling was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for scamming “elderly and retired” victims out of £4.5m, in September 2013.

Together with his cousin and sister, Snelling tricked hundreds of people into investing in Australian and Italian wines through two scam investment wine companies, Nouveau World Wines and Finbow Wines Ltd

The scam brought in nearly £5m for the two companies while only spending a total of £474,000 on wine.