A French winemaker who made and sold thousands of bottles of fake champagne in an elaborate scam involving carbonating Spanish wine was jailed Tuesday.

Didier Chopin, 56, was also barred from ever running a company again and from working in the champagne industry for at least five years.

Chopin sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of fake champagne he made with wines from Spain and southern France, to which he added aromas and gas to make them sparkling.

A court in Reims — the biggest city in the Champagne region — sentenced him to 18 months behind bars, with an additional 30 months suspended.

His wife was handed a two-year suspended sentence on the same charges of fraud and theft of a protected brand name.

The fraud was estimated at several million euros, and he was ordered to pay d

See Full Page