July 22nd, 2010 by

Reporter Doutrelant reported the comments of “a government inspector on the illegal use of sugar to boost the alcoholic content of Beaujolais-Villages: ‘If the law had been enforced in 1973 and 1974, at least a thousand producers would have put out of business.’ The same writer explained how growers “planted Mourvèdre and Syrah, two low-yield grapes that give the wine finesse, strictly for the benefit of the government inspectors. Then, when the inspectors left, they grafted cheap, high-yield vines, Grenache and Carignan, back onto the vines.”

In March 2008, allegations were made against producers of Brunello di Montalcino that there were illegally blended other types of grape varieties into wine stipulated to be of 100% Sangiovese, allegedly to inflate production and increase profit, in a scandal termed “Brunellopoli.”

Many Burgundy wine shippers have been found guilty of blending inexpensive wine with red Burgundies and exporting them at exorbitant prices. The Vins Georges Duboeuf company was found guilty in 2005 of illegally mixing low-grade wine with fine vintages. The court found that both “fraud and attempted fraud concerning the origin and quality of wines” had been committed.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fraud

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