Trial for 60 over sweet Beaujolais
Sixty people involved in the wine trade are accused of adding hundreds of tonnes of sugar to Beaujolais wines.
Sixty winegrowers, traders and supermarket executives are to go on trial for adding hundreds of tonnes of sugar to Beaujolais wines from 2004 to 2006.
Adding sugar to wine at the start of the fermentation process is legal under winemaking regulations but only up to a certain limit, and must be clearly recorded.
Authorities in the Beaujolais region opened an inquiry in December in connection with the irregular sale of 600 tonnes of supermarket sugar, thought to have been sold on to dozens of local winegrowers.
Investigators claim the scale of the sugar sales in the area prove local winegrowers were using the technique to artificially improve the flavour of their wines.
State prosecutor of Villefranche-sur-Saône, in the Beaujolais region, Francis Battut said: "The investigation is over. It is established that a traffic took place and many of the accused have admitted the facts."
The trial will take place in the autumn, after this year's grape harvest, he said.
Experts say the 2004 Beaujolais harvest was of a particularly variable quality with some vineyards producing musty-flavoured grapes.
Among the charges are making irregular purchases and forgery for which the defendants face fines and possible prison sentences.
Photo: Jetalone
