Eight vintners and wine cooperatives in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, charged with deception and forgery, were given sentences ranging from a month of suspended prison time to fines of $54,000. Claude Courset of the Ducasse company received the harshest sentence from the court in the city of Carcassonne—a six-month suspended prison sentence and a $61,000 fine. The company that sold Ducasse's wine in the U.S., Sieur d'Argues, was convicted of fraud and fined $244,000. Courset said he "reserves the right to appeal" the court decision. Prosecutor Francis Battut said that Merlot and Syrah grapes were passed off as Pinot Noir in a scheme dating from January 2006 to March 2008. The southern Languedoc-Roussillon is not known for its production of Pinot Noir, a thin-skinned grape mainly associated with the Burgundy region. Gallo officials said that the only French Pinot Noir that was potentially misrepresented to Gallo was the 2006 vintage.  Current Wine News and Headlines
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