Duboeuf decides against appeal

Published: 23 July, 2008

Les Vins Georges Duboeuf has has decided not to appeal against the court ruling - which saw the Beaujolais producer fined 30,000 - handed down against the company earlier this month.

The court in Villefranche found a Duboeuf employee guilty of illegally blending 20,000 litres of wine. Under French law an employer is liable for an employee's actions, even if they are carried out without the company's knowledge.

In a statement, Georges Duboeuf said: We have decided to turn the page, rather than fight against rules, whose legal, social and moral purpose is beyond us.'

All the wines involved in the court case were declassified and eventually sent to the market under lower appellations. There has been no suggestion that Georges Duboeuf was aware of the illegal blending.

Michel Bosse-Platire, the president of Inter Beaujolais, has given his backing to the region's most famous producer. The vast majority of winegrowers and traders who are members of the interprofessional group have expressed their solidarity for Mr Georges Duboeuf.'

The illegal activity was discovered in August 2005, following a police raid on the Duboeuf premises.

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