The Pinot noir passing-off controversy arose in 2010 within the

wine industry Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

over the passing-off by French distributors of

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

wine as

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The controversy involved the mislabeling of wines from vintners in southern France which were falsely sold to American distributors

E & J Gallo Winery E & J Gallo Winery is a winery and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo, and is the largest exporter of California wines. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest family-owned wine ...

as Pinot noir. The mislabeling resulted in a French court convicting twelve people for fraud.

Background

Pinot noir wine is considered particularly difficult to make well. American law requires that wine sold as being from a

single varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

must be at least 75 percent composed of the grape in question, and within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, the requirement is a minimum of 85 percent. Accordingly, many American winemakers add less expensive but more robust Merlot and Syrah to improve the mainstream appeal of inexpensive Pinot noir. California wine brands often sell Pinot noir from France, Italy, Chile, and Germany, because it is less expensive to produce there than locally. As a result of the blending and importation practices, wine sold as Pinot noir often does not have the characteristic taste of the grape, and can easily be confused by consumers and experts for other varietals. Languedoc has been known for centuries for producing simpler and cheaper wine, which has sometimes been passed off by wine merchants as more expensive wine from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. The French ''

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

'' (AOC) system was created in the 1930s to prevent the practice of mislabeling or diluting expensive wines with cheaper ones.

The fraud

The American producer E&J Gallo received a shipment of bulk wine sufficient to fill 18 million bottles, sold by wholesaler Sieur d'Arques as Pinot noir from the

Languedoc-Roussillon wine Languedoc-Roussillon wine, including the ''vin de pays'' labeled ''Vin de Pays d'Oc'', is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century (espe ...

region of France, which was actually a mix of

and

. Sieur d'Arques in turn had bought the wine from Ducasse Wine Merchants, a wine broker, which had bought less expensive Merlot and Syrah from at least eight

agricultural cooperatives An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...

in the Carcassonne area. According to

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, French authorities believe that Claude Courset, owner and general manager of Ducasse Wine Merchants, earned approximately 7 million euros from the scam to pass off "cheap plonk" as Pinot noir from January 2006 through March 2008. Gallo had sold the wine under the 2006 vintage of its

Red Bicyclette Red Bicyclette is a French wine produced by the Sieur d'Arques cooperative and distributed in the United States by the E. & J. Gallo Winery. Its distinctive label appeals to consumers who prefer branded wines, labelled with the variety of grape f ...

label, at an approximately $8 retail price per bottle, as being 85 percent Pinot noir. Fake Pinot noir was also sold to Constellation Brands, and possibly other American brands.

Prosecution

The scheme was discovered during an

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

of Ducasse Wine Merchants. French investigators were suspicious that the firm was buying Pinot noir wine at 40 percent less than the going rate, in quantities that exceeded the historical production level of the region. On February 17, 2010, 12 people from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France were convicted by a court in

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

in connection with the

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

, including the head of Ducasse, Claude Courset (described as the "kingpin" of the scheme), executives at Sieur d'Arques, and several cooperatives.

Aftermath

The scandal, described as the largest in French winemaking in recent years, was a public relations "nightmare" that hurt the credibility of the Red Bicyclette brand, and of French wine production generally, at least in the United States. Pinot noir had gained some recognition and popularity among American consumers, in large part due to a conceit in the 2004 independent film Sideways that it was superior to Merlot wine. As a result, consumers had been willing to pay more for the supposedly superior grape. The British press used the occasion to scoff at American consumers for their supposed lack of sophistication in wine. In March, 2010, a wine writer for the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

coined the name "Pinotgate" to describe the scandal. Gallo denied any prior knowledge of the fraud and was not accused of complicity. He has been accused by some of not sufficiently overseeing the quality and authenticity of wine purchased from suppliers. A

class-action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

was filed against Gallo in connection with selling the mislabeled bottles.

References

{{reflist Wine-related scandals 2010 scandals Scandals in France Scandals in the United States February 2010 events in Europe February 2010 events in France February 2010 events in the United States