French winemaker cleared after refusing to spray vineyard

A French court has acquitted Thibault Liger-Belair after refusing to spray his vineyards against deadly vine disease flavescence dorée, in a second blow to the French authorities. Thibault Liger-Belair, the well-known Burgundian vigneron and proponent of biodynamic viticulture who owns a domaine in the Moulin-à-Vent cru in the Beaujolais region, appeared in court on Tuesday 15 December 2015 in Villefranche-sur-Saône in the Rhône.