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Cheap Wine Is Fine, Just Don't Pretend It's Something Else

By Eric Lipman

The French take their wine snobbery very seriously. Twelve people were convicted by a French court for participation in a scheme to pass off some sort of fermented, grape-derived liquid as Pinot Noir from the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France. One victim of the crime was wine giant E.&J. Gallo, and thus, by extension, U.S. wine drinkers as a whole. Gallo purchased a bunch of this wine for its 2006 Red Bicyclette brand Pinot, but, as it turns out, it was made from less expensive grapes. Specifically, Syrah and Merlot. Wonder if Paul Giamatti would have been fooled? The alleged kingpin of the fraud seems to have taken offense, in a very European, and very lawyer-like fashion. Claude Courset, of the Ducasse wine trading firm, says his wines are "irreproachable," his company tried real hard to comply with the Gallo contract and confusing regulations and he reserves the right to appeal. Apparently, the defendants argued that Pinot Noir was not really a varietal, but rather a combination of taste characteristics. They also tried the "no harm, no foul" defense, contending that since no U.S. consumers complained, it was no big deal. I mean, come on, Votre Honneur, these people drink wine...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on February 19, 2010 (boomark / email).