French Court Tries Winemaker for Selling Counterfeit Champagne

Champagne counterfeiter convicted, and remembering Frédéric Panaïotis and Nicolas Potel

Didier Chopin, a French citizen who produced counterfeit Champagne.
Didier Chopin, who sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of fake Champagne between 2022 and 2023, was turned in by former employees. (La Gazette France)

In Wine Spectator’s Oct. 15 & 31, 2025, issue international news roundup, a Champagne counterfeiter is tried in French court, and we remember winemakers Frédéric Panaïotis and Nicolas Potel. To read the full versions of these articles for free, go to WineSpectator.com/news or follow the links above. 

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