Pinot noir fraud could land 13 winemakers in jail
FRENCH wine makers could face up to 12 months in jail following the unfolding of what Decanter noted as the world’s biggest wine con. E&J Gallo are at the centre of the con as being the recipient of what they believed to be over 3.5 million gallons of pinot noir, but in fact, according to wine experts and a French court, was in fact phoney pinot noir.
With enough to fill 16 million bottles, Gallo, the American wine producer, bought the wine under the label of being from the Languedoc-Roussillon area. But authorities were alerted after suspicions were raised as to the amount of pinot noir being exported from the region was thought to far exceed historic levels.
Thirteen people have been charged with selling the wine labelled as something in fact it wasn’t. It is believed that Gallo paid in the region of €4 million for the wine over a two year period.
Australian wine producers face 25% drop in industry
The Australian wine industry is facing the prospect of reducing volumes by approximately 25% if proposals by Australia’s various statutory bodies and non-governmental organisations representing the industry, are accepted.
Capacity among producers equates to around two million tonnes while demand currently runs at 1.5m tonnes. As an industry insider observed: “There is a significant overhang and Australia needs to put some ‘tension’ back into its demand and supply chain. It needs to look at sustainable dollars per tonne not production: tonnes crushed.”
Drinks International say “that the proposal, which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, is that wine producers will be asked to submit their production figures and business plans to a sort of ‘clinic’, region-by-region, where they will be scrutinised. If their business is deemed unsustainable, they will be offered government money to cease wine grape growing”.
