Life imitates what?

This is brilliant! Many of you may be familiar with the wine made by Bonny Doon and bottled under the Ca'del Solo label known as 'Big House Red'. The wine is a perfectly fine 'daily drinker' which is exactly what it is trying to be. The name of the label 'Ca' del Solo roughly translates into 'House of Solitude' and the 'Big House' of both red and white fame is a reference to the state penitentiary that can be seen from the vineyards of Bonny Doon. Enough about that, I'm starting to sound like I like the stuff and I've got a reputation....

So why am I going on about this? Well, it appears that the folks running the penal system in Italy have gotten wind of this and put the practice to work.

This wine is made within the whitewashed walls of Velletri prison, a few miles south of Rome, and is put out by thieves and murderers. Fuggiasco means fugitive. A sister vintage goes by the name Seven Turns of the Key, an Italian expression for the depressing finality of imprisonment.

Right on.

Although one could make the argument that this is 'cruel and unusual punishment'. It's not bad enough that you're in prison but now they want you to make wine, which I'm fairly certain they are not permitted to consume. I reckon it's better than stamping out license plates.