MILAN — 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 juicy celebrity dispute has spilled onto the pages of Italian newspapers. Sting told the weekly magazine “Sette” on Aug. 3 that he was persuaded into buying the Palagio winery near Florence in 997 after tasting an “excellent” glass of red wine offered by the owner, Simone Vincenzo Velluti Zati di San Clemente. The singer, however, said it later turned out that the wine was a Barolo from Italy’s Piedmont region, and not a local Tuscan Chianti at all.
The magazine labeled the move “a hoax” and claimed the singer “had been tricked” into the purchase.
Sting, in the interview, said he only realized the truth about the wine’s origins after he had purchased the Palagio estate, including its vineyards, and he noticed guests pouring the Palagio red into the bushes rather than drinking it. He said he and his wif
