French authorities found Vincent Lataste’s company, Sequoia, “attempted deception on substantial quantities of wine,” and other offenses. He was sentenced to a year in prison and his company, renamed Awesome was fined €100,000, €50,000 of which was suspended, while he himself was fined €30,000 with €20,000 suspended.
Le Monde newspaper said the case started when investigators from the French equivalent of TTB did a “routine check” and found levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2) 90 micrograms per liter over the 150 milligram per liter cap. Sulphur dioxide can also be used to change the flavor of wines by reducing levels of acetaldehyde, which gives sherry its distinctive smell, and also stops old wines from turning brown.