A bad dose of writer's block sent me surfing – internet surfing, that is – and I came across a story regarding a wine scandal in China that wasn't widely reported here. Back in December 2010, some 30 Chinese wineries were shut down as a result of their producing adulterated wines that were then falsely labelled using famous brand names. Authorities discovered that some of the "wines" under investigation contained several chemical additives, sugar and water. While some examples had up to 20 per cent wine, others were simply a flavoured sugar, water and chemical blend.