Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/776679
16 WINES&VINES February 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS The Cool Climate Series by T.W. Boswell is the embodiment of elegance. To emphasize fruit and terroir, Cool Climate Series barrels are exclusively crafted with 36 month, extra fine grain French oak as part of T.W. Boswell's Special Reserve premium wood selection. Our team nurtures this exceptional wood source, and then each barrel is specially crafted using new, low-impact proprietary toasts that focus on finesse, thereby complementing delicate fruit and accentuating elegance. Cool Climate Series Special Reserve French Oak Barrels S an Rafael, Calif.—One of the lead- ing wine flash resellers, Wines Til Sold Out (WTSO), is facing a class- action lawsuit claiming it de- frauded customers by offering wines for discounted prices that were not based on the wines' true value. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, attorneys representing customers of the website claim WTSO created wine brands with private-label companies and then offered those wines at discount prices not based on any actual retail value and offered other wines with exaggerated retail prices to make the discounts appear even larger. The complaint names WTSO and the Ash- burn Corp., both based in Pennsauken, N.J. where Roger Wilco Wine & Spirits is also lo- cated. Brothers Elliot and Joe Arking own the companies, and Elliot Arking launched the online enterprise in 2006. An attorney representing the website, how- ever, is confident the case will end favorably for her client and said WTSO stands behind the quality and price of every wine it offers for sale. Flash resellers typically offer wines for around 40% less than retail for a limited amount of time. Since the websites became popular in the wake of the recession, WTSO has been a leader in the channel, offering dozens of domestic wines per month. Wines Vines Analytics tracks flash offers for domestic wines as part of the regular Wine Industry Metrics reports, and in December, WTSO made 46 offers, the third highest number of all the major resellers. The class-action complaint was filed by Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson, a New York law firm that specializes in class-action cases, on behalf of Memphis, Tenn., residents Kyle Cannon, Lewis Lyons and Dianne Lyons. The entire complaint can be found on the firm's website. Delivered to a customer's email account or mobile device, a WTSO offer will list the wine as well as an original price, the best price found through a recent web search and WTSO's offer. Filed in March 2016, the complaint cites, as an example of what it describes as WTSO's "scheme," an offer for Castlebank Vineyards "Vivian's Vineyard" 2013 Dry Creek Valley Cab- ernet Sauvignon. The wine is described as hav- ing an original price of $35 with a discount or "flash" price of $13.99. The complaint argues that further research of this brand and nearly 30 others found that the wines were only available from WTSO; it further alleges that many of the brands were produced solely for WTSO through private- label companies. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs allege that because Castlebank and other pri- vate-label wines were not available anywhere else, the original prices and discount prices were a deceptive way to entice consumers to buy wine. The complaint also alleges that WTSO used inflated prices for well-known TOP STORY Wines Til Sold Out in Legal Fight