It is estimated that less than 20% of to come It’s a fake circulating around the world or, to put it milder, lying about his true origin. Among these fakeThere are two major categories.
As Marla (pictured above) tells us, the first type consists of high-quality wine fakes, which she refers to as “unicorns.” A very limited number of bottles that supposedly come prestigious Burgundy wineries, burgundy, Tuscany or even United States of America; spaces that are synonymous with luxury, exclusivity and the highest quality for almost everyone. At the Spanish level, Vega Sicily Y pingus are usually the most affected.
However, there is a second type of fraud that is based on quantity rather than quality. affects mid-range wines. There are plenty of such cases, which have the oldest tradition in our country. There are many examples identified last year that affected some wineries in Catalonia, but also Rioja Y in other Denominations of Origin.
Here’s how it works: “Some unscrupulous growers buy grapes from places like: stainproduction is much higher than in their region of origin,” explains the expert, “and they propagate it like their own grapes, they make wine with it, in some cases they lie about the varieties used and put their labels on it.” These scams can move millions of bottles that reach major distribution chains and where consumers buy without knowing they’ve been given a pig.
Marla points to two main reasons for the rise of wine fraud. “On the one hand, consumption of fine wine does not stop growth and with more demand, there are more outlets for counterfeit goods. for the other, the number of consumers of fine wine has increased rapidly. Despite the lack of knowledge of oenology, there are more people who have money and want to enter this world. They’re looking for brands and it’s pretty easy to fool them.”
But, without a doubt, another key factor in the rise of counterfeit wines is wine. Increase in online sales of fine wines. “It’s easier for them to sneak a bottle like this in the network because you don’t have it in front of you,” says the expert. “There are wine auction pages where it’s easy to sell counterfeit bottles. That, of course, doesn’t mean they all are. Also, there is more and more control: some websites have experts dedicated to reviewing and reviewing wines. It confirms that everything is fine. But no doubt the internet The easiest place to find fake bottles at exorbitant prices.”
But, Is there a way to tell if we are dealing with a fraud? According to Sommelier Felipe Urbano, “Ordinary consumers are almost impossible to detect. We experts have a better chance of noticing this, but we are not infallible either. If we are not familiar with a particular wine, for example, when we do it blind or in a competition, a Finding the origin of the bottle is not an easy task”.
“On the other hand,” he adds, “consumer confidence in the store or restaurant that sells the wine also makes it difficult to detect. They are usually sold for between 3,000 and 6,000 euros, they will scam you. This makes it easier for counterfeiters”.
“There are some very good fakes out there deceiving the world’s most experienced sommeliers and winemakers,” Marla confirms. “Imagine someone who doesn’t know about wine. Actually, to detect these duplicates you have to go much further than the liquid itself.: It is necessary to examine the type, weight, color of the bottle, the density of the glass, the label, the cork, the capsule, and even the wines, because sometimes bottles are produced from years without wine. authentic harvest”.
“Moreover have some wineries that they allocate some of their resources to prevent fraud“For example, in the case of Vega Sicilia, bottles are all numbered with a digital code that allows their authenticity to be verified via a web page. But I also know that there are others, because they are either very classic, very old school or from many villages, they don’t do any of this because they don’t see it as part of their philosophy”.
“I’ve always thought about it,” Felipe adds before finishing. there’s more behind these fake wine nets. Something we’ll almost never know,” he asks. And he wonders: “Isn’t it strange that ten or twelve bottles of a world-renowned supposedly extraordinary wine are sold in a Michelin-starred restaurant and no one suspects anything? Weren’t you surprised when you bought six cases of that star wine worth 3,000 euros for 200? To be honest, I don’t like to think about these things because I always see the romantic side, the beautiful side of wine, but it’s still a business. When a wine is put up for sale in a supermarket that turns out to be fake. Does the buyer matter? Wasn’t the ad a different person? Aren’t you buying it for a suspiciously low price?”