| Abstract: |
Francois-Marie Marret was given a two-year sentence for fraud for blending poor quality wine with high-end Saint-Emilions, Lalande-de-Pomerols and Listrac-Medocs to sell to major supermarkets under prestigious labels. The 800,000-litre (211,000-gallon) "moon wine" fraud, so called because the cheap wine was spirited to his operation by night, was uncovered thanks to the diligent work of French customs inspectors. They carefully track the wine produced by France's tens of thousands of vineyards to protect the country's multi-billion euro (dollar) industry -- and to make sure drinkers are getting what they are paying for. Around the Bordeaux region, home to some of France's most prestigious -- and expensive -- wines, the eagle-eyed customs officials check vats, barrels, pallets, bottles and vines. They draw up a meticulous inventory of stocks to ferret out both minor rule-bending and larger-scale fraud -- detected once or twice a year on average, according to customs inspectors. |
