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Kahn's Pouilly-Fuissé is still selling under the Michelet label in New York City for $11 and up. But U.S. customs agents are currently holding 2,450 cases because of questions about their Belgian certificate of origin. Bacardi Imports Inc., of Miami, which owns the Michelet label and has bought some of Kahn's wine, is taking no chances on the rest. The firm is asking wholesalers to recall the Pouilly-Fuissé and will reimburse them for the loss.
French wine industry leaders were understandably horrified. "Any fraud is most detrimental, whether it's the deed of French or foreign dealers," said Regis Affre, head of the Burgundy Wine Merchants' Association. "My only hope is that Dutch authorities will tighten controls."
One prominent U.S. wine expert, Sam Aaron of Manhattan's Sherry-Lehmann Inc., pointed out that the fraud had probably been made all the easier because the actual production of Pouilly-Fuissé' is only about 250,000 cases a year, hardly enough to meet the heavy demand. The real Pouilly-Fuissé, he believes, will probably stand up to the sting.