| When I was little, my grandmother had a grapevine | | | | close to twenty thousand bottles of inexpensive |
| on the fence that separated her house from her | | | | wine adorned with 1995 Sassicaia Super Tuscan labels. |
| neighbor's house. My sisters and I spent hours arguing | | | | One the other end of the fraudulent spectrum, wine |
| with the boys next door; we said the vine was ours | | | | fraud can also involve mixing toxic chemicals with |
| and they said it was theirs. The grapes, we | | | | wine, a combination that can be fatal. This may be |
| reasoned, were on our side of the fence, but the | | | | performed in an attempt to increase the alcohol |
| vine, they said, was rooted on their side. This | | | | content of a low-alcohol wine or to make a type of |
| argument went on for months, until the grapevine | | | | wine more flavorful. When wine sellers or makers |
| eventually died, leaving the grapes wilted and | | | | engage in this type of wine fraud, they are gambling |
| shriveled. When this happened, knowing the vine was | | | | with more than just scamming people out of their |
| worthless, I told the boys next door that they could | | | | money: they are also gambling with people's lives. In |
| have the grapevine if they gave me their yo-yo. | | | | 1986, an Italian winemaker mixed wood alcohol with |
| They agreed and I ran off with my new toy. | | | | his wine to increase the wine's potency. This resulted |
| Unbeknownst at the time, I had just committed a | | | | in the death of 23 people. |
| pseudo-form of wine fraud. | | | | Perhaps the most common type of wine fraud is |
| Wine fraud, by definition, is a type of fraud where | | | | wine blending, an act that blends cheaper wine with |
| customers are sold wine illegally. Like a grape known | | | | more expensive wine and passes the wine off as |
| for being seedy or a vineyard known for being | | | | authentic. This can involve a variety of wines. Wine |
| shady, wine fraud has the potential to spoil the wine | | | | makers have been caught blending everything from a |
| lover's spirit. This wine is sometimes filled with | | | | cheap Rioja wine with Bordeaux to an expensive red |
| chemicals that can cause sickness or it is cheap wine | | | | Burgundy with inferior wine and selling the bottles at |
| sold for prices much higher than it's worth. While it | | | | an inflated price. |
| may seem that wine fraud is limited to wines sold in | | | | To prevent wine fraud from ruining the industry, |
| back alleys, or out of the trunks of beaten down | | | | many of the world's major wine producers have |
| cars, many cases of wine fraud are sold by | | | | begun taking preventative action. One preventive |
| seemingly legit vendors. You may have been a victim | | | | action involves placing serial numbers on bottles of |
| of wine fraud and never even realized it. | | | | wine, serial numbers that prove the wine's |
| This type of fraud can have many faces, with one | | | | authenticity and value. This, unfortunately, does not |
| being label fraud. During this, labels of pricey wines | | | | provide protection for older wines, wine that were |
| are adhered to non-expensive bottles and sold as if | | | | bottled years ago. |
| they are the real thing. Just as fake Cuban cigars | | | | For you, the consumer, preventive action must also |
| often contain real Cuban cigar labels, fake bottles of | | | | be practiced. Understanding that wine fraud exists is |
| Chateau Lafite often contain real Chateau Lafite | | | | the first step in making sure you're never given a |
| labels. This leads people to pay extreme amounts of | | | | bottle that is blended, filled with toxic chemicals, or |
| money for bottles of wine that may be filled with | | | | worth much less that you pay. If the label is |
| something as cheap as Mad Dog. | | | | particularly old looking, and appears that it is has been |
| As with many fraudulent operations, label fraud often | | | | taken off another bottle and placed on yours, it's |
| involves a large number of people. With organization | | | | best to stay away from it. It is also best to only buy |
| that mirrors a car theft ring, this fraud brings several | | | | wine from reputed dealers; if the wine seller asks |
| people together with the intent of labeling unknowing | | | | you if you want to buy a watch, it's best to turn |
| consumers "ripped off." In 2000, for example, | | | | away. And, most importantly, never give up your |
| authorities in Italy uncovered a warehouse filled with | | | | yo-yo for a lousy old grapevine. |