Learn How To Spot Fake Wine, And Other Handy Info For Oenophiles
As much as 20 percent of the world's fine wine could be fake. That's the oft-cited figure published in one French newspaper, anyway. Even if you're skeptical of that staggering estimate, it's hard to ignore the headlines. In Italy, police this spring seized some 30,000 counterfeit bottles. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., convicted fraudster Rudy Kurniawan is facing up to 40 years in prison after manufacturing bogus bottles in his kitchen and peddling them to high-end collectors.
On Aug. 6, a panel of experts — notably including Richard M. Berman, the federal judge currently presiding over the Kurniawan case — will gather in New York City to lay out the facts on wine forgery.
"After this talk, we're all going to be experts," says food historian Francine Segan, who is moderating the panel discussion. Other speakers include New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov and Benjamin Wallace, author of The Billionaire's Vinegar, which chronicles another high-profile wine-fraud case involving counterfeit bottles that supposedly once belonged to Thomas Jefferson. The event begins at 7 p.m. at the 92nd Street Y on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Get your tickets here.
"We're going to learn how [fraudsters] fudge the labels, how they fake the corks — just the whole way that they fool us," says Segan. (For an early cheat sheet, MarketWatch offers some expert tips on sorting out the fakes from the legit sips.)
The panel will also discuss other legal issues related to wine. For instance: did you know about the loophole that allows New Yorkers under the legal drinking age to imbibe so long as they're enrolled in culinary school?
Judge Berman is even donating some wine for the event — "non-fraudulent, authentic wine," says Segan, who claims to have never been duped by phony vintages herself. Her secret: "I often get wine from the actual makers," she says.
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