Category: Wine Fraud In the News

The documentary, Sour Grapes, which covers the Rudy Kurniawan story, is coming to Netflix next month. The movie includes interviews with Bill Koch, Don Cornwall, Laurent Ponsot, and Maureen Downey. The full story is available here.

After an MW tweeted a picture of a counterfeit bottle of wine she was enjoying- thinking it was authentic- and Maureen Downey responded the bottle was counterfeit, it begs the question: Why are experts able to be conned as well? The full story is available here.

Basketball star, Tim Duncan brought Charles Banks, co-owner of Mayacamas to federal court after investment frauds. The full story is available here.

Bodega was found serving counterfeit vodka to it's patrons, and now is being prosecuted. During an inspection inconsistent bottles of Glen's Vodka were found bringing on the charges. The full story is available here.

What needs to occur to have wine labelled as "Napa Valley?" Lawmakers are working to protect the wines made in California, and the various AVAs, while other wineries say these laws could be detrimental to their sales. The full story is available here.

In what many will hope is the final chapter of this wine fraud story, the wines in inventory of Premier Cru were auctioned off. The full story is available here.

For our first update in September, we have some great new content for our members. First, we published the Vendors We Trust article, which points to vendors we have worked with and know they are fighting against the counterfeiting of wine. This list will grow as we become more familiar…

Ava Winery claims it has almost perfectly imitated a 1992 Dom Perignon that they plan to release and sell as a cheaper alternative. The difference is their wine is made in a lab. The full story is available here.

Francis Ford Coppola is suing Copa di Vino over what appears to be a similar label and design as Coppola's Diamond Collection Claret. Beside the similarities in the labels and packaging, the wine is called the "Winemaker's Cut" which Coppola says is a copy of their "Director's Cut." The full…

Embassy Wine UK Ltd. boss, Jonathan Piper, is facing jail after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of wine investments after taking the collections and money. The full story is available here.