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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2009 > April > 18 > Entry
British con men bilk French wine producers
Take a look at this Decanter.com story about French wine producers getting scammed by con men posing as British wine merchants.
And this scam is nearly identical to one that occurred just last year? And there’s a good chance the problem is far more widespread than reported because some wine producers who were victimized are too embarrassed to come forward?
Incredible.
Anyone want to buy a 1797 Lafite? It’s got Thomas Jefferson’s initials on it …
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: France and its wines, Wine industry
Comments
By Mark Fisher
April 20, 2009 7:22 AM | Link to this
Judy: I came by at about 3:15 and enjoyed my taste of 1983 Inglenook Charbono very much. The 3-liter bottle was about two-thirds empty at that point, and the “cash jar” of money donated to the education fund for the daughter of the late Todd Nikolai was stuffed full of big bills. This was a GREAT idea on your part, and the folks at DLM pulled it off flawlessly. Once again, the Dayton wine community shows its class …By judy
April 19, 2009 9:01 PM | Link to this
Mark, missed you at DLM Saturday’, Thank goodness the wine was well received. We uncorked about 12:20 and it was still good. As the afternoon progressed, it just kept getting better. Everybody who was there said Jon was an idiot!By Dylan, www.ourwinestory.com
April 19, 2009 12:27 PM | Link to this
Oh yes, please. As long as the initials are there. Scamming is deplorable. Of course, I’m sure to be preaching to the choir. Con men take your confidence in them and turn it into a weakness, it makes it difficult to trust, or even rebuild in some cases, after a con occurs (Madoff proved that one). I’m always weary of my parents and warn them to run anything by me that they’re unsure about from the internet. It’s sad to see how regularly they would have been pulled in by an identity theft or alternative scam. Too many oft take advantage of trust, and the wine world is no exception.