A New Zealand winemaker has admitted his role in a complex wine fraud
A New Zealand winemaker has admitted his role in a complex wine fraud
5 July 2019
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) prosecution for doctoring the vintage and origin of wines is understood to be the first case of its kind in New Zealand.
A whistleblower brought the alleged misconduct to light, involving Marlborough and Waipara sauvignon blanc vintages from 2011 to 2013.
Southern Boundary Wines Ltd, and its vineyard manager and winemaker Scott Charles Berry, winemaker Rebecca Junell Cope, and operations/export manager Andrew Ronald Moore, have been accused of involvement.
Today, Berry has pleaded guilty to 36 charges spanning a range of allegations at the High Court in Christchurch.
He will be sentenced in September.
The co-accused deny charges relating to them and are scheduled to stand trial on July 22.
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