No truth in wine advertising

You may not be getting what you pay for when you buy French wine.

Up to a third of wines sold under France's regional appellation system might be from an entirely different region, according to a French consumers' group.

The Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, or AOC, once a gold stamp of origin and quality, is fast turning into a national joke, UFC-Que Choisir said.

It claimed this was due in large part to AOC award panels made up of local wine professionals with vested interests.

Unscrupulous "judges" on local panels were accused of giving lesser wines the prestigious AOC label in the face of increasing competition from New World wines, whose world market share has risen sharply in recent years.