Champagne may only be made from hand-picked grapes from the corresponding growing region.
Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa (Symbolbild)
A French winegrower has been sentenced to prison for selling carbonated and flavored wine as champagne. Millions were lost.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
A winegrower in Reims, France, has been sentenced to prison for carbonating and flavoring Spanish wine and selling it as champagne.The 56-year-old was sentenced to a total of four years in prison, two and a half years of which were suspended, as well as several million francs in damages.Between 2022 and 2023, he sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of his counterfeit champagne.
He had carbonated and flavored Spanish wine and sold it as champagne: A 56-year-old winemaker was sentenced in Reims on Tuesday to four years in prison, two and a half years of which were suspended, and several million euros in damages.
The winemaker had sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of his counterfeit champagne in 2022 and 2023. The exact number of bottles sold in France and abroad cannot be traced due to fraudulent accounting, regretted Diane De Valbray, lawyer for the Champagne Association.
“I made a mistake, I am ruined”
The convicted man sold the adulterated sparkling wine under his own name as “Champagne Didier Chopin” and under around 100 other brand names. “I made a mistake, I’m ruined,” Chopin said at the end of the trial. His wife, who was involved in the business, was sentenced to two years’ probation.
The couple were also banned from running a company. They will not be allowed to carry out any activity related to champagne for five years. Champagne may only be produced from hand-picked grapes from the relevant growing region and is fermented in the bottle. The French designation is protected.
Dining and Cooking