Big Wine Trouble in Little China: Counterfeiting Ring Busted.
August 25, 2012
The news coming out of China is that the Shanghai police have arrested a wine counterfeiting gang, seizing thousands of bottles of “fake Bordeaux” in the process. The ringleader had been running the scam since 2010, using Chinese wine whilst the labeling process was being completed.
Allegedly, the bottles were not direct copies but so-called “funny” bottles which use the names of famous first growth estates; however, the bottles still infringe on trademark laws.
The wine was priced around Y6,000-Y7,000 a bottle ($940-$1100) when it had cost a mere Y80 (around $12) to produce.
The police officer in charge of the wine counterfeiting raid has conducted over 900 similar operations this year alone, arresting over 1,900 people and seizing over US$47m in fake bottles.
Click here for the full article from The Drinks Business.
My Thoughts…
Chinese wine bottled as Bordeaux? I’m sure whomever was conned into buying those bottles would have been pretty upset when they cracked it upon and poured themselves a glass! I know the quality of Chinese wine is improving, but having it masquerade as a First Growth Bordeaux, ANY First Growth Bordeaux, is a bit of a push…
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