Articles & News - Wine Scamming

So Duc's told me that as the wine market grows in China and other countries, the rate of counterfeits has gone up (trust us Asians to fake even wine...). That's understandable - I mean, widely distributed goods eventually ends up in the wrong hands or for the wrong purpose. With something as expensive and indicative of high class as wine, it was inevitable. However, what about faux wines handled domestically? Using different grapes than advertised or re-corking isn't improbable.

"The most publicized claim of fake wine (so far) involves billionaire American wine collector Bill Koch, who has filed four lawsuits alleging that he was sold fraudulent wine, including a 1784 Château Lafite reputedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. (Koch’s story, and his outrage, have inspired a book, The Billionaire’s Vinegar, that is soon to be turned into a movie.)"

I read an article about a Food & Wine writer who decided to take it upon herself and try to imitate a wine, checking if she could scam her dinner guests. She paid a hefty price (in general,  not for the wine itself) for a 100-point ’82 Château Mouton Rothschild which came in at $1,200. That's a top notch price for a little dirty trick. Her scamming of the wine involved replacing the actual Mouton with another wine that was similar enough to hopefully fool her wine aficionado friends. Did it? Well the suspense is held in the writing so check out the article below!

Reader questions: Would you know the difference? If a person didn't know the difference, is it so bad that they paid their premium for the wine? How often do you think this will happen?

Original article: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/wine-scams-a-counterfeiter-confesses