The faking and exploitation of expensive wines has become big business in recent years with wine fraudsters being convicted throughout the world. But the problem in Tuscany seems to be raising its head almost on an annual basis.
Once again, Brunello di Montalcino, probably Italy’s finest red wine, came under inquiry as thousands of falsified bottles were seized following a recent tip-off to Italian police. A total haul of 165,467 litres of Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, worth approximately €1 million, was seized by the Italian finance police recently.
Great quantities of inferior wine were allegedly been passed off between 2011 and 2013 as the real thing. The initial alarm was raised following a report by the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium wine cellars and then, working in collaboration with the Inspectorate for the Suppression of Fraud (ICQRF), the police uncovered a total of 75,620 litres of Brunello di Montalcino, 89,847 litres of Rosso di Montalcino and 2,350 fake labels.
According to Italian police, a wine expert who obtained fake Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino labels and was able to falsify certification in the region’s wine database, was selling lower-quality local wine as bulk supplies of the coveted red to unwitting local producers.
“It’s the biggest fraud ever carried out in the agricultural and food sector,” Siena’s police chief said. Had it succeeded, it would have resulted in fake Brunello di Montalcino wines “ending up on the tables of half the restaurants in the world,” he added.
The 165,000 litres of falsified wine would have sold for up to €5 million. The poor-quality wine, which had been stored in barrels to age like the real Brunello, was confiscated before it could go on the market.
Produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino in Tuscany, Brunello is one of Italy’s most famous and expensive wines, often selling for several hundred euros a bottle. In 1980 it was awarded the first controlled and guaranteed designation of origin; (DOCG), a quality assurance for wine.
Meanwhile, on another continent, banknote-style labels with holograms are being used as the latest tool in an attempt to stop wine fraud. In South Africa the winemakers are striking back as counterfeit wines continue to threaten their vineyards.
The Cape Winemakers Guild in Cape Town have ordered 26,000 silver labels with 2014 vintage emblazoned in a hologram for labels in their October auction. The holograms are similar to those used in bank notes. Fake wine is usually forged by taking the empty bottle of a vintage wine, then refilling it and fudging the label and the capsule or foil closure, so the hope is that the hologram will make it much more difficult for fraudsters to fake.
A vineyard in Tuscany.