Business Notes WINE

When winos name their poison, two of the most called-for brands are Thunderbird and Night Train Express, favored for their high alcohol content (18%) and low price ($2.29 for a 750-ml bottle). The two wines account for less than 3% of total sales for California's giant E. & J. Gallo winery, but they have become an increasing source of controversy for the company. Last week Gallo said that it had voluntarily told its distributors to stop selling the wines to liquor stores in skid-row areas in U.S. cities.

Gallo has come under increasing pressure to curb its sales in such neighborhoods. On Sept. 12 the Los Angeles county board of supervisors called for a voluntary ban on the sales of fortified wine in a 70-block downtown district. Some law-enforcement experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of such restrictions, saying that drunks could buy their alcohol in a better neighborhood. But Phillip Faight, chairman of a San Francisco group called Safe and Sober Streets, hailed Gallo's move. Said Faight: "If only one person goes to detox as a result of this, the whole thing's worth it."