French Winemakers Convicted of Fraud

A French court will rule Wednesday on a massive wine fraud case in which local producers are accused of selling millions of bottles of fake Pinot Noir to US wine giant E&J Gallo.The 13 defendants, including executives from wine estates, cooperatives, a broker, wine merchant Ducasse and conglomerate Sieur d'Arques, are accused of selling 18 million bottles (135,334 hectolitres) of fake Pinot Noir.The wine was commercialised under Gallo's popular "Red Bicyclette" Pinot Noir label though made from far less expensive grape varieties.

A French court on Wednesday handed out suspended jail terms and hefty fines to 12 wine industry figures for selling millions of bottles of fake Pinot Noir to US wine giant E&J Gallo.The defendants, including executives from wine estates, cooperatives, a broker, wine merchant Ducasse and conglomerate Sieur d'Arques, were convicted of selling 18 million bottles (135,334 hectolitres) of falsely labelled wine.The wine was sold under Gallo's popular "Red Bicyclette" Pinot Noir label, though made from far less expensive grape varieties.

Constellation Brands, the world's biggest wine group, was another recipient of some of the 18 million bottles of fake pinot noir sold by French winemakers, US officials confirmed Thursday.Constellation's involvement in the massive transatlantic swindle emerged in court documents seen by AFP after 12 wine-makers and dealers were convicted on Wednesday of passing off cheaper wine as pinot noir to US clients.The US Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau confirmed to AFP that Constellation bought some of the phoney goods.

French wine-makers and dealers were convicted Wednesday of selling millions of bottles of fake Pinot Noir to the US firm E&J Gallo in one of the biggest scams ever to rattle the world of wine.A court handed out suspended jail terms and hefty fines to 12 people for selling 18 million bottles (135,334 hectolitres) of wine they said was Pinot Noir but which was in fact made from far cheaper grape varieties.The convicted included executives from wine estates, cooperatives, a broker, wine merchant Ducasse and the conglomerate Sieur d'Arques.

A California lawyer has filed a class action lawsuit against French wine producers and a US importer over the sale of millions of bottles of wine falsely passed off as Pinot Noir."A class action complaint has been filed seeking to represent all California consumers who purchased falsely labeled wine," said Brian Levine, an attorney with California law firm Kingsley and Kingsley.The complaint accuses the defendants of "false advertising, unfair business practices, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, (and)... unjust enrichment."

Twelve French wine producers were recently found guilty of selling "million of gallons of fake Pinot Noir" to American wine distributors.

Pinot Noir's popularity skyrocketed after the movie Sideways. it was great news for anyone growing and selling this diva of a grape, but terrible news for Pinot lovers. Demand pushed prices into the stratosphere and availability to the fringes. Producers, wanting to get in on the action, flooded the market with below average imposters (often ...

A dozen producers and traders were found guilty of having supplied an U.S. trader with mislabeled “Pinot Noir” wines.