On Thursday, March 6, the Corriere Fiorentino reported that fourteen people have been charged with fraud and falsification of public documents following an Italian Treasury Department investigation of Tuscan winery Frescobaldi. The names of those indicted include Lamberto Frescobaldi, the winery’s Director of Production, as well as the winery’s enologist and six southern Italian grape growers.

According to investigators, who launched their inquiry in 2005, Frescobaldi purchased grapes in southern Italy and shipped the fruit to Tuscany where it vinified and labeled the wine as Tuscan DOC and IGT.

Lawyers for the accused claim that while grapes from different parts of Tuscany were used in the production of wines labeled as “Tuscan,” fruit sourced from southern Italy was used exclusively in the production of Frescobaldi bulk wine.

The trial is scheduled to begin in Florence on November 17, 2008.