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Enrico Viglierchio, an executive at Castello Banfi vintners,
told reporters at an international wine fair in Verona on Thursday, that
magistrates based in Siena, Tuscany, were leading the probe into several
winemakers.
Viglierchio was confirming a report in Tuscan newspaper
Corriere Fiorentino, which said that police had seized wine produced by
Castello Banfi as well as by three other vintners of well-known wine.
Investigators suspect the Brunello might have been cut
with other grape varieties such as Sauvignon grapes.
"It seems we produced more" than the vintner
could have produced based on the calculation of acreage dedicated to grapes
for Brunello, Viglierchio said in remarks carried by RAI TV.
Corriere Fiorentino said that Siena investigators are
investigating possible commercial fraud. It reported that investigators
studied photographs of the vineyards and calculated that the acreage dedicated
to the production of Brunello couldn't have yielded as many bottles as
were produced without the wine being likely "cut" with another
variety of grape.
The Italian news agency Apcom reported that hundreds
of thousands of bottles of 2003 Brunello di Montalcino from other winemakers
were also seized.
"I am upset by the methods used in this probe,"
the Italian news agency quoted Viglierchio as saying in Verona. "They
acted on the basis of clues and data which must be carefully checked out."
Italian news reports said that authorities had also ordered
the seizure of some vineyards.
An Italian agricultural lobby group, Confagricoltura,
urged the magistrates to work quickly to reassure consumers and let vintners
go about their work.
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