Wine spat: Italy heir accuses Sting of slander, flat apology

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated press

MILAN (AP) — The heir of a late duke who sold Sting his Tuscan winery 25 years ago says the singer has hit a flat note with a lame apology for comments the family deems slanderous. The dispute has spilled into the pages of Italian papers. It arose from an Aug. 13 interview in which Sting said he was persuaded to buy his Palagio estate by a glass of “excellent” red, only to learn later that wine was from another region. The duke’s heir retorted that the suggestion the singer had been duped was slanderous and Sting responded with an apology. But the heir says the apology was hardly convincing. He was still deciding whether to take further action.