Wine Fraud?
Who would have thought counterfeiters would have moved to counterfeiting wine? Just like those fancy labels that verify authenticity on clothes, label technology is being developed to enhance wine security.
According to Wine Spectator magazine, 5% of rare wines sold on the secondary market are counterfeit. That is a lot of fraud.
At $500,000 for some wine, this fraud had to hurt:
In 1988, William Koch bought a number of rare bottles of wine alleged to be Thomas Jefferson's, found in walled-up wine cellars in Paris. Koch paid $500,000 for the bottles, which he bought from German wine merchant Hardy Rodenstock through an auction at Christie's.
After lending his collection for an exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 2005, Koch learned that the supposed Jefferson bottles were fakes. The engraved "T.H.J." initials on the bottles were way ahead of their alleged time, done with tools not even introduced until after Jefferson had died. [Read]
According to Wine Spectator magazine, 5% of rare wines sold on the secondary market are counterfeit. That is a lot of fraud.
At $500,000 for some wine, this fraud had to hurt:
In 1988, William Koch bought a number of rare bottles of wine alleged to be Thomas Jefferson's, found in walled-up wine cellars in Paris. Koch paid $500,000 for the bottles, which he bought from German wine merchant Hardy Rodenstock through an auction at Christie's.
After lending his collection for an exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 2005, Koch learned that the supposed Jefferson bottles were fakes. The engraved "T.H.J." initials on the bottles were way ahead of their alleged time, done with tools not even introduced until after Jefferson had died. [Read]
Posted by chocwine -
Category: Wine Stories
Comments
No comments yet