Wine Fraud

Hello Wine Lovers!
A dear friend called me this week and after taking care of business he stated he heard on the radio an article relating to wine fraud in restaurants. He suggested I write my weekly blog about this growing phenomenon and after a little thought... here it is!Wikipedia defines wine fraud as a form of fraud in which wines are sold to a customer illicitly, usually having the customer spend more money than the product is worth, or causing sickness due to harmful chemicals being mixed into the wine. As wine is technically defined as the product of fermented grape juice, the term "wine fraud" can be used to describe the adulteration of wine by substances that are not related to grapes. This can refer to the use of coloring agents such as elderberry juice, or flavorings such as cinnamon and ginger. While some varieties of wine can naturally have deep, dark color and flavor notes of spices due to the presence of various phenolic compounds found in the skin of the grapes, the use of additives in order to artificially create these characteristics is generally frowned upon in the wine world. In recent years, much attention has been focused on the label fraud, where counterfeit labels from cult wines and other rare and expensive wines are affixed to bottles of less expensive wine and then resold. Wine fraud can involve less expensive wines if they are sold in large volumes. Wine Spectator noted that some experts suspect that as much as 5% of the wine sold in secondary markets could be counterfeit. There has been a good number of books written on wine fraud and my favorite is Billionaire's Vinegar about the Thomas Jefferson bottles. But most of the so called :wine fraud" is centered around collector wines and not everyday wines you purchase at the store or your local watering hole or restaurant. There has been some talk of certain restaurateurs putting inexpensive wines in more expensive bottles and re-corking them... or adding wine to a 1/2 full bottle. When served a wine, or you open one at home, look at the cork. More and more producers are using corks with labels because it is harder to "fake" a cork. The bottom line is this, as with everything, there seems to always be someone that has to come along and start a revolution of theft and fraud and the wine industry is no exception. I'm quite sure this will grow in the US to more and more everyday wines! Purchase from a reputable shop and buy from the same shop as much as possible so you build a relationship with them. If you do feel you have purchased a fraudulent wine and you have a good relationship with the shop, I'm quite sure they will stand up and do the right thing.
Books on fraud:“The Winemasters” by Nicholas Faith (1978), a terrific history of a Bordeaux wine trade. That was followed by “Wine Scandal” by Fritz Hallgarten (1986), “Wine Snobbery,” by Andrew Barr (1988), and “Is This the Wine You Ordered, Sir?” by Christopher Fielden (1989). Each book refers to various scandals in all areas of the wine trade.
Cheers!
J