Wine fraud

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Expensive and highly collectable wines such as the French Bordeaux wine from Château Pétrus are often the target of wine fraud.

Wine fraud relates to the commercial aspects of wine. The most prevalent type of

chemicals and sweeteners (compensating for color or flavor).[1]

Counterfeiting and the relabelling of inferior and cheaper wines to more expensive brands is another common type of wine fraud.[2]

A third category of wine fraud relates to the investment wine industry. An example of this is when wines are offered to investors at excessively high prices by a company, who then go into planned liquidation.[3][4] In some cases the wine is never bought for the investor.[5] Losses in the UK have been high,[6] prompting the Department of Trade and Industry and Police to act.[7] In the US, investors have been duped by fraudulent investment wine firms.[8] Independent guidelines to potential wine investors are now available.[9]

In wine production, as wine is technically defined as

adulteration of wine by substances that are not related to grapes.[10] In the retailing of wine, as wine is comparable with any other commodity, the term "wine fraud" can be used to describe the mis-selling of wine[11]
(either as an investment or in its deceitful misrepresentation) in general.

Fraud in wine production refers to the use of additives in order to deceive. This may include coloring agents such as

phenolic compounds found in the skin of the grapes.[12] Fraudsters will use additives to artificially create these characteristics when they are lacking. Fraud in the selling of wine has seen much attention focused on label fraud and the investment wine market. Counterfeit labelling of rare, expensive, and cult wines, and unregulated investment wine firms characterise this type of fraud. Wine Spectator noted as much as 5% of the wine sold in secondary markets could be counterfeit,[13] and the DTI (UK) believes losses by investors to rogue wine investment firms amount to hundreds of millions of pounds.[14]

History

During the classical period, wine was so often adulterated and counterfeited that Pliny the Elder complained that not even the nobility could be assured that their wine was genuine.

For

Roman wine which was so great that even the nobility could not be assured that the wine they were pouring on their table was genuine. For the poor and middle class of Rome, local bar establishments seemed to have an unlimited supply of the prestigious Falernian wine for unusually low prices.[15]

During the

death by hanging.[15]

During the

Italy.[15]

In the early 19th century, several European writers wrote about the risk and prevalence of wine fraud. In 1820, German chemist

23 & 24 Vict. c. 84). Several European governments also enacted legislation defining what exactly constitutes "wine" so as to distinguish authentic winemaking from the workings of these wine counterfeiters. The French government first legally defined wine as the product of fermented grape juice in 1889, followed by the German government in 1892 (later expanded in 1909) and the Italian government in 1904.[15]

Fraud of a different nature occurred during

dried yeast.[15] The bricks would come with a "warning label" cautioning people not to mix the contents of the brick, yeast, water, and sugar in a pot and then seal such pot for seven days, or else "an illegal alcoholic beverage will result".[16]

The practice of adding grape spirits to wine was once considered manipulative and fraudulent, but today is accepted practice for the production of all fortified wines, like Port.

Over the years,

fermentation in an uncontrolled environment creates a very crude style of wine that may not be palatable to many people, hence the development of various techniques and practices designed to improve the quality of the wine but which could be viewed as "manipulating" or "adulterating" the wine from its natural or "authentic state". At various points in history, these techniques may be considered “too much” manipulation, more than what a consumer would likely expect, and thus labeled as "fraud". However, as these techniques became more common place in the wine industry, they gained an air of acceptability and eventually became just another tool in the winemaker's tool box to help craft good-quality wine.[17]

Most techniques of manipulation arose from need. Early wine had many

Port is to "manipulate" it by adding brandy during the fermentation process.[15]

Other winemaking techniques that have been at various times considered fraudulent or too manipulative of the wine include

balance" the wine.[18]

While some winemaking techniques once considered fraudulent are now generally accepted, a few practices have gone in the opposite direction. One of the most controversial is adding water to wine in a technique known today as

Spartan king Cleomenes I was once driven insane after drinking wine that was not diluted with water. Today, few consumers dilute their wine as the Greeks did, but the use of water during the winemaking process is still prevalent.[20]

Today water is used to help balance extremely ripe grapes that would have a high concentration of

grape must can dilute the wine to such a degree that the overall alcohol by volume drops below the percentage threshold for these higher taxes.[19] The deliberate act of diluting a wine with water in order to pay lower duties and taxes is illegal in several countries.[15]

The gray area between accepted practice and fraud is where water is added to the winemaking process as a means of "quality preservation". Water is often used during the winemaking process to help pump grapes through equipment and to "rehydrate" the grapes that have begun to shrivel from the extended hang time. This rehydration is used to help balance the wine and, it is hoped, to prevent "

Marriage at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine.[21][22][23]

Label fraud

Several European countries developed appellation systems, with their own unique labels and seals, to try to combat label fraud that misrepresented a wine's true origins.

One form of fraud involves affixing counterfeit labels of expensive wines to bottles of less expensive wine. This practice became particularly prominent following the devastation of the

Denominación de Origen (DO) system used in Spain. Producers who are registered in each appellation must abide by the appellation's rules, including exact percentage of grapes (often 100%) that must come from that region. Producers who fraudulently use grapes outside the region they are proclaiming on their wine labels can be caught by the appellation's authorities.[15]

As it became more difficult to fraudulently label wines with the wrong provenance, label fraud soon evolved to the pilfering of the identities of wine estates themselves. Merchants would take the bottles of lesser priced wines and label them with the names of the finest

vintages.[26][27]

Examples

One of the most famous alleged purveyors of label fraud is wine collector

American president, Thomas Jefferson. American businessman Bill Koch bought four of these Jefferson bottles which were later determined to be fake - the engravings on the bottle that purportedly linked them to Jefferson were determined to have been done with a high-speed electric drill similar to a dentist's drill; technology that did not exist until modern times. This revelation cast a net of suspicion on the authenticity of all the rare bottles that Rodenstock served at his tastings and sold at auctions.[28][29]

Another well-publicized example of label fraud is the case of Rudy Kurniawan; he was arrested on March 8, 2012 and indicted for fraud. Allegedly, Kurniwan was buying large stocks of negociant Burgundy and re-labeling them as more expensive wines, such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.[30] He famously consigned several lots of Clos St. Denis from Domaine Ponsot from vintages long prior to any recorded production of Ponsot wines from that vineyard; the auction lots were withdrawn prior to bidding.[31]

In 2002, bottles of the weaker 1991 vintage of

Sassicaia and arrested a number of people including the group's salesperson, who was selling the fake wine out of the back of a Peugeot hatchback.[13]

Preventions

Federal governments and individual producers have taken many efforts in order to curb the prevalence of wine fraud. One of the earliest such preventive measures was the founding of the Service de la Répression des Fraudes by the French government to detect and stamp out fraud among France's AOC wines.[15] Some major producers are taking actions to prevent fraud of future vintages including marking bottles with engraved

isoscapes
are likely to grow in importance.

Wine blending

The rumors that grapes other than Sangiovese (pictured) were being used in the production of Brunello di Montalcino triggered an investigation into the potential wine fraud.

Some practices of manipulation and adulteration have gone through stages of being considered fraudulent and later accepted[

teinturier) into a lighter wine could enhance the marketability of the wine. Today the practice of blending grape varieties together is commonly accepted (such as blending Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), except where such blending is against the regulation of a particular appellation (such as the controversy over the Brunellopoli scandal in Brunello di Montalcino).[15]

The gray area comes when inferior wine is being blended in with more expensive, higher quality wine in order to increase the total quantity of wine available to be sold at higher prices. This is a process known as "stretching" or "cutting in" the wine. During the 18th century,

claret. While this practice would be frowned upon today by Bordeaux authorities, the French wine writer André Jullien noted that some merchants believed this practice was necessary in order for the claret to be agreeable with English tastes—a practice he describes as "travail à l'anglaise".[15]

Examples

Reporter Doutrelant reported the comments of "a government inspector on the illegal use of sugar to boost the alcoholic content of

Beaujolais-Villages: 'If the law had been enforced in 1973 and 1974, at least a thousand producers would have been put out of business'".[25] The same writer explained how growers "planted Mourvèdre and Syrah, two low-yield grapes that give the wine finesse, strictly for the benefit of the government inspectors. Then, when the inspectors left, they grafted cheap, high-yield vines, Grenache and Carignan, back onto the vines".[25]

In March 2008, allegations were made against producers of Brunello di Montalcino that there were illegally blended other types of

grape varieties into wine stipulated to be of 100% Sangiovese, allegedly to inflate production and increase profit, in a scandal termed "Brunellopoli".[32]

Many

Moulin-à-Vent in the 2005 vintage. The issue was confined to a small percentage of the wine produced by Duboeuf; the affected wines that were wrongly labeled as Cru Beaujolais were declassified to Beaujolais Villages.[33]

Hazardous materials

hazardous materials
in the wine making. Ancient Romans and others used to blend lead acetate into their wine in order to add sweetness.

One of the most dangerous forms of wine fraud is when producers add hazardous materials such as

Food and Drug Administration, across the globe have set up laws and regulations of acceptable chemicals that can be added to wine in order to avoid some of the scandals that have plagued certain wine producing countries in the 20th century.[15]

In 1985,

methyl alcohol into his low-alcohol wine to increase its alcohol content.[34][35][36][37] Another 15 Italian people went blind weeks after drinking the tainted wine.[38] Odore Barbera and Fraris Dolcetto del Piedmonte were among the wine labels involved in the scandal.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wineries were doctoring their beverages with sugar water, coloring agents, and artificial flavorings, and using famous brand names". itulip.com Cognachome. The Global Times.
  2. ^ "An Insider's Guide to Counterfeiting Wine - Apple MacHome". Relabeling: The simplest way to counterfeit wine is to slap the label of a fine wine on to another, similar-looking bottle.
  3. ^ "Fine Wine Investment". The London Wine Cellar. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  4. ^ "Millions of pounds have been pocketed by offering fine wines at two to three times their market value". jancisrobinson.com. Department of Trade and industry (Jim Budd) - LilacHomesite.
  5. ^ "Watch out for the scams". FT.Com - Four directors involved in the International Wine Commodities Ltd and The Bordeaux Wine Trading Company are charged with conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. They sold Bordeaux en primeur but allegedly never bought any wine. The Financial Times- (MachoMedia 2015 cited).
  6. Decanter.com
    . Chris Mercer.
  7. ^ "DTI investigators have succeeded in shutting down eight companies- "victims duped out of GBP110 million'". The London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
  8. ^ "Wine Fraud: A great deal in wine: friend or faux?". Winemag.com. Kathleen Buckley - StarTacHomeMedia - 2008. I was told the value was $30,000 but when I checked the prices I could have bought the same wine for $13,000 less.
  9. ^ "Investing in Fine Wine: don't be a victim of fraud". met.police.uk. The Metropolitan Police UK.
  10. ^ "World News Research". world-news-research.com. My World Journal. in 1985, around 100 Austrian wine-makers were indicted with boosting the body and sweetness[dubious – discuss] of their wines with diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze.
  11. ^ "The DTI successfully wound up in the High Court - Boington & Fredericks of London Limited, City Vintners Limited and Goldman Williams Limited - (for the) mis-selling of fine wines, and there are more in the pipeline". jancisrobinson.com. The Department of trade and Industry.
  12. ^ "Wine Lingo - Definitions and Terms". taylorbrookewinery.com. Taylor Brook winery Llc. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
  13. ^ a b M. Frank, Wine Spectator ( January 31-February 28, 2007). "Counterfeit bottles multiply as global demand for collectible wine surges", p.14
  14. ^ "Fine Wine Scam Which Has Cost Investors [Pounds Sterling]110m- "WINE investors are being duped out of millions of pounds by unscrupulous salesmen"". The London Evening Standard - Apple MacHome - DTI (UK). Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-08-02.}
  15. ^
    ISBN 0-19-860990-6
  16. ISBN 1-56305-434-5
  17. ISBN 1-891267-91-4
  18. ISBN 0-19-860990-6
  19. ^ a b c J. Robinson "Adding water to wine Archived 2011-03-21 at the Wayback Machine" Purple Pages, December 31st 2002
  20. ISBN 0-19-860990-6
  21. ^ J. Googe Too much of a good thing" Wine Business International April 6th, 2007
  22. ^ B. Hewitt "Sere Grapes" The New York Times April 20th, 2008
  23. ^ The Uncorker "Why It Matters Glossary Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine #19, Accessed: December 8th, 2009
  24. ^ "Counterfeits and Other Problems". Wine-searcher.com.
  25. ^ a b c Prial, Frank. J, Decantations. NY: St. Martin's Griffin, 2001. Pp. 23-25.
  26. ^ Wilke, John, The Wall Street Journal (March 6, 2007). "U.S. Investigates Counterfeiting of Rare Wines"
  27. ^ McCoy, Elin, Bloomberg.com (March 20, 2007). "Trophy Status and History Trump Taste in Fuss Over Old Wines"
  28. ^ P. Keefe The Jefferson Bottles, The New Yorker pages 1-10, September 3, 2007
  29. ^ "Jancisrobinson.com, March 17, 2007: Flushing out wine fraud and fakes". Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  30. ^ Steinberger, Michael (July 2012). "A Vintage Crime". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  31. ^ Wallace, Benjamin (13 May 2012). "Château Sucker". NY Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  32. ^ VinoWire.com (March 28, 2008). "Antinori, Argiano, and Frescobaldi named in "Brunellopoli" Brunello Scandal". Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  33. ^ Frank, Mitch. "Georges Duboeuf's Company Convicted of Fraud". Wine Spectator. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  34. Washington Post
    , April 9, 1986
  35. ^ TOP 10 WINE SCANDALS Rupert Millar, 17 August 2011
  36. New York Times
    , April 9, 1986
  37. ^ How Italian Wine Was Contaminated DANIEL P. PUZO, Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1986
  38. ^ Nine to be tried for 1986 'Wine Massacre' deaths UPI, August 20, 1991
  39. TIME magazine
    , April 07, 1986

External links

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