Prosecuting makers and traffickers of fake ingredients often is difficult because evidence is located overseas, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Patricia Maher said in testimony provided to a House Commerce Committee panel.
Mr. Hobbs, who was on his way to visit a potential client in Virginia when we spoke, has small winemaking teams in California's Sonoma County and Mendoza, Argentina, and an assistant winemaker, Julian Gonzalez, who accompanies him overseas from time to time.