I am a "bottle collector". I buy wines to drink them, and sometimes I save the empty bottle.
I didn't call it that, but I used to be one of those. On 9 Mar 2012, at 19:24, Richard Halegua Posters + Comic Art wrote: > counterfeit wines have been going on for generations folks. > > in wines, there are several ways of collecting. I was a wine collector for > years and still have 1982, 1985 & 1990 bordeaux in my collections from such > heavyweights as Pichon-Lalande, Lynch Bages and I even have a bottll of 1945 > Port. I am a "bottle collector". I buy wines to drink them, and sometimes I > save the empty bottle. > > another category of collector is a "label collector" > > Label collectors are the kind of people who have to have a bottle from every > producer of each variant bottle and frequently these wines are not drunk. > People who have 1812 Napoleans are unlikely to drink them, largely because > they are now undrinkable (but it isn't always the case) > > usually - and this case likely highlights this fact - win counterfeiting is > done by changing labels and even re-corking bottles. > > The thief in this article was obviously a sophisticated, but unsophisticated > schmuck!! For instance, he had to have changed the labels on every bottle he > wished to sell, which means he had to counterfeit these labels. We already > know how easy it is to counterfeit paper. His problem was counterfeiting > wines that did not exist, but the simple fact that representatives of the > wineries had to go through historical information to help uncover the fraud > is one aspect of why it may have been so difficult to expose him, combined > with the egalitarian way that wine business is handled. > > Now while some real pro buyers may have avoided his scam by not bidding on > bottles that they "didn't feel were right", the majority of these bottles may > have been bought by Asian collectors who drink the wines. When this happens, > they may not know what the wines are supposed to taste like & in all > likelihood, the wines in the bottles were probably good wines re-bottled, so > unless the wine aficionado knew that the 1945 wine they were drinking was > supposed to have a peachy flavor, and not instead the oaky apple flavor that > it does have - the fraud would not be exposed. > > If wine review king Robert Parker bought a bottle and opened it, the fraud > may have been exposed immediately. > the key here is knowledge and a sensitive pallate. > > Few people can say things like "ah yes.. grapes grown on the north slope in > the second area from the third patch of the western vineyard at > Sonoma-Coutrez" (but yes there actually are some people who can). > > The thief must have been doing this for some time. probably many years, but > the evidence is mostly gone as it has been drank. But how any experienced > dealer could forge bottles that were never vinted in the first place is a > mind-boggling fraud. Having a suite of wines 1945-1971 that don't exist is > like creating a style-Q Dracula one sheet. The fact that the winery needed to > be called to do historical research if those bottles existed however is > evidence of how difficult it may be for average collectors to know they > hadn't been cheated. Even the auctioneers were taken in, which sort of means > their professional wine agents might need some more schooling > > cheers!! > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > Send a message addressed to: > [email protected] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > The author of this message is solely > responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
