“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” – Groucho Marx
In the article Wine Scams: A Counterfeiter Confesses, wine writer Lettie Teague (Food & Wine magazine, October 2008 issue) attempts to pull a fast one on her friends (and industry colleagues) by concocting a 100-point first-growth Bordeaux for a special tasting. Teague settles on faking a 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild and asks Chris Camarda of Washington State’s Andrew Will Winery for assistance. Camarda brings his merlots, cabernet sauvignons, cabernet francs, as well as his confidence to the project.
Teague’s article is good and full of insight on how the practice of creating fraudulent collector wines is still going strong. And if today’s economy is any barometer for the number of fake wines that will continue to be heading for auction, then perhaps Groucho’s adage should be more readily considered.
Yes, it’s cynical. But at least it’s true. Check out our wine books reviews here.