The wine did not exist and the money taken from customers was spent on ‘high living: foreign holidays, jewellery, fast cars and the like’, it was claimed.The fraudsters set up three bogus companies, Bordeaux Wine Trading Company, International Wine Commodities and Templar Vintners, which had only one case of fine wine between them over three years,’ St Alband crown court, in Hertfordshire, heard.‘The sales pitch to potential investors involved hard selling over the phone promising Premier Cru wine sold “en primeur”,’ prosecutor Ann Evans said.