Suspected wine fraud prompts inspection overhaul

Swiss wine producers should be subject to closer controls following a suspected dilution scam that rocked the reputation of the industry. The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOA) made the recommendation in a report released on Wednesday. The study was carried out in the wake of damaging allegations surrounding a major Swiss wine producer in 2013. Media reports fingered the vineyard for allegedly mixing wines and selling them as pure premium brands. A year later, prosecutors closed down an investigation into the wine producer without charges being laid. But the lingering smell of sour grapes prompted the FOA to examine measures to tighten up inspection to help the industry recover its reputation. The FOA report recommends the merger of six wine trade supervisory bodies into a single entity and a centralisation of the inspection process, which is currently managed separately by different cantons. In particular, the FOA wants to see a more efficient flow of information ...