Aussie wine mishap delays U.S. debut

• From The Associated Press

ADELAIDE, Australia -- An unsteady forklift dropped a container full of fine Australian wine worth more than $1 million, smashing most of the bottles. The winemaker says he is "gut-wrenched, shocked and numb" after the loss of his flagship shiraz.

Sparky Marquis of Mollydooker Wines lost a third of his Velvet Glove Shiraz production after the accident that destroyed all but one of the 462 cases bound for the United States. Each bottle of the Mollydooker wine sells for $200.

Marquis said Friday that when workers opened up the dropped container, "It was like a murder scene. There was red everywhere."

He said the wine was fully insured. The accident has crippled Mollydooker's U.S. launch in September. It will also impact the wine market in Australia.

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