Quit Yer Wining!

Ah.... you gotta love those snobby French who will go to no ends to destroy their good name!

Do you like Pinot Noir? Have you ever enjoyed the brand, Red Bicyclette? If so, what do you think?

Here is what the law in France thinks about Red Bicyclette sold in the USA by E. & J. Gallo...

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Feb 17 2010 5:14pm EDT
A Note of Fraud, With a Sour Aftertaste
The outrage.

French authorities have cracked down on 12 wine producers and traders who pulled the old switcheroo on American wine company E. & J. Gallo, labeling the local swill as 18 million bottles of pinot noir, a more expensive varietal. The BBC said a judge said the group had repeatedly and deliberately misidentified the wine, which was sold in the U.S. under the Red Bicyclette label.

Authorities became suspicious because the volume of the groups sold as pinot noir exceeded the pinot noir output of the Langedoc region. Some producers who participated in the scam weren't even pinot producers. Their defense: They substituted wine with pinot-like properties.

The judge in Carcassonne, in the southwest of France, handed down suspended prison sentences and issued fines ranging from $1,500 to $247,050. He said the scam had severely damaged the reputation of the Langedoc region.

That may be true, but no one in the U.S. seemed to notice. There were no complaints from consumers of Red Bicyclette, a popular U.S. brand.