France wine producers found guilty of fraud
A dozen French winemakers and traders have been found guilty of a massive scam to sell 18 million bottles of fake Pinot Noir to a leading US buyer.
The judge in Carcassonne, south-west France, said the producers and traders had severely damaged the reputation of the Languedoc region.
The 12 more than doubled profits passing off the wine to E and J Gallo under its Red Bicyclette brand.
The court ruled the 12 had deliberately and repeatedly mislabelled the wine as one of the more expensive varieties of grape in order to get a better price from E and J Gallo.
The Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir single grape wine is hugely popular in the United States.
French Customs officers spotted the swindle and called in investigators. They found the amount of Pinot Noir being sold to Gallo was far more than the region produced. Some of those in the scandal were not even Pinot Noir producers.
The judge handed out suspended jail sentences ranging from one month to six months for the most prominent wine trader and ordered all the defendants to pay fines.
The judge said: “The scale of the fraud caused severe damage for the wines of the Languedoc for which the United States is an important outlet.”
Bravo for the customs officers who spotted the swindle – and their pride in a national product.
Holler at your Congress-critter to support Bernie Sanders' bill to 
…suspended jail sentences ranging from one month to six months…
I was imagining a televised date with La Guillotine. The French are going soft.
It’s probably that damned European Union thing I keep hearing about — from somewhere or other.
Cinaedh
February 20, 2010 at 4:46 pm
confiscate it all and turn it into vinegar, then everybody can sprinkle it on their fish n chips.
zorki
February 21, 2010 at 10:29 am
really a good idea!
Didi
March 26, 2010 at 5:01 am