|
New Zealand is rated as one of the countries known for good business practices. U.S. News rates is as #14 out of the 60 ‘Best Countries Overall’ with an overall score of 8.6 based on various factors. (India ranks 25 with an overall score of 4.6; Switzerland holds the #1 position with overall score of 10).
New Zealand is also known for its Sauvignon Blanc (especially from Marlborough) and Pinot Noir (especially Central Otago).
Therefore, it must have come as a surprise and a shock to the New Zealand industry currently exporting wines worth NZ$ 1.6 billion annually when it learnt that one of their wine producers , Southern Boundary Wines Ltd had exported thousands of bottles of wine with fraudulent labels and false information about the variety, vintage or origin from 2011-2013.
Three of the directors of the Waipara-based company face more than 150 charges in a landmark case alleging that wine was exported with false information like mentioning wrong vintage, falsely identifying some wines’ country of origin, destroying winery records, and blending wines from different vineyards. The Report in Stuff.co.nz also splashed pictures of the three accused in the alleged fraud.
New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is prosecuting following an extensive investigation. According to the report, ‘this could be made into a big situation, especially in the Asian markets; Chinese in particular are very sensitive to misleading labels." The wine in question had been exported to UK, Australia, Japan, Fiji and Thailand, and has been either consumed by now or brought back in some cases. No health risks were associated with the wine for those who might have consumed it.
It is the first time a winery has been charged with such a massive fraud since New Zealand's Wine Act that came in existence in 2002. Dieter Adam, CEO of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said New Zealand's food and drink exports were particularly at risk from any suggestion of misleading labelling and it was an issue of trust and reputation.
Beating all odds, NZ Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 86 per cent of the export market, with Marlborough being the most favourite region and the main source of Sauvignon Blanc varietals. The New Zealand wine industry is highly regarded around the world and such instances can ruin the reputation built over years of hard work. The investigations however, prove that the systems in place worked, "and it is appropriate that this matter is before the courts".
Jeffrey Clarke, New Zealand Winegrowers’ acting CEO says he came to know of the case when the MPI investigators came to him for information during their extensive investigation. To the best of his knowledge this was the first and only case of allegedly fraudulent New Zealand wine, and he embraced the ongoing prosecution since it could act as a warning that allegedly criminal action would be investigated and brought to the courts.
“It is important to bear in mind that Southern Boundary Wines is a very small winery, and even if this issue affected all of their wines it would still be a small percentage of the total of New Zealand wines export,” said Clarke. “I think the prosecution under the wine act is a good thing, it could act as a deterrent. We cannot let the alleged actions of one winery damage a reputation that we have all worked so hard to build,” he added.
In another exposé by a wine writer Michael Cooper, he helped expose the Wither Hills wine scandal in 2006, where the winery added awarded medal stickers to the labels of an inferior product. "We do rely heavily on the integrity of wine producers, backed up by legislation . . . because you cannot simply by smelling and tasting a wine, say definitively, 'that comes from here or there’."
No pleas have been entered to any of the charges so far, but the four defendants will enter pleas on November 30. Incidentally, Pictures of Southern Boundary Wines wine maker Rebecca Cope and Directors Scott Berry and Andrew Moore have been splashed in the Article by Stuff.NZ.
Austrian Fraud and the Wine Laws
One can well empathise with the New Zealand industry which has worked hard to create a brand for the country’s wines over the last few decades, The case reminds one of the infamous scandal of 1985 in Austria when the export nose-dived by 80% overnight. A few years ago when I visited Austria for the first time, I raised this point at a seminar. The speaker felt slightly uncomfortable but it was reassuring to see it listed in the history of Austrian wines by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB) in an exhaustive Manual in the booklet form - Austrian Wine in Depth.
In the chronological order of Austrian wine industry the list described for 1985, ‘The wine scandal unleashes an unprecedented price reduction of tank wine after it was discovered that Austrian wine has been adulterated by the illegal additive di-ethylene Glycol. Consequently, export sales of Austrian wine virtually diminished overnight but within a year the new stringent wine law is introduced, to supervise and inspect Austrian wine.’ The government also established AWMB in 1986, to promote the image and sale of Austrian wines.
Here are some of the Articles dealing with the alleged fraud:
Austrian Wine Summit 2015 atop Yet another Summit
Why Wine Whine Australia
Austrian Wines Gain World popularity
Subhash Arora |