Georges Duboeuf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georges Duboeuf, the largest Beaujolais bottler by far, has been called "the prince of Beaujolais" and "the Beaujolais king." He is a négociant who produces more than 25 million cases of wine annually. Duboeuf is almost single-handedly responsible for the annual Beaujolais nouveau phenomenon, and has won awards for his wines. His wine labels are easily recognizeable by their use of colorful flower images and the distinctive Duboeuf insignia.

1 Allegations of wine fraud
2 See also
3 Sources
4 Footnotes

[edit] Allegations of wine fraud

Les Vins Georges Duboeuf was accused of wine fraud by Prosecutor Francis Battut for labeling of his 2004 Beaujolais Cru. Of the fraud Battut said "everything was being mixed" in La Maison Duboeuf's Lancie facility, "Beaujolais with Beaujolais -Villages, cru wines with Beaujolais-Villages, and so on." In response Duboeuf claimed that it was a simple winemaker's error and fired his former production manager, Sylvain Dory. ^[1]

Duboeuf claimed that none of the 16,700 cases in questions ever made it to the public for sale under the improper labeling. In December of 2005, Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) gave permission for the wine to be sold in bulk under the Beaujolais Villages classification.

On July 4, 2006 a French Court found Duboeuf guilty and ordered him to pay a $38,000 fine to the INAO. ^[2]