MASSIVE ITALIAN WINE SCAM BUSTED

NO OTHER country suffers from a counterfeit wine problem the way that Italy does and police and winemakers are in a never-ending battle to stay one step ahead of forgers. Recently, finance police in Sienna seized 16O,OOO liters of falsely labeled Tuscan wines. A consultant and several workers within the local wine industry are alleged to have passed off wine of inferior quality as Brunello and Rosso Montalcino between 2O11 and 2O13. According to police, the seized wine was still with distributors and no bottle was yet on the market. Had the fake Montalcino made it to stores, the wine could have earned about $6.5 million dollars. The consultant used his relationship with producers to steal official seals and other documents used to certify authenticity. Police described the wines as “common” and below the required standards. In addition to the theft of the seals the consultant hacked into Tuscany’s agricultural department records and made alterations which in turn made it more difficult to challenge the authenticity of the wines. The consultant now faces charges of false advertising, embezzlement, fraud and unauthorized access to a computer system. Police uncovered a total of 75,62O liters of Brunello di Montalcino, 89,847 liters of Rosso di Montalcino and 235O fake labels. The alarm was raised after a report by the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium wine cellars highlighted discrepancies during an audit of the inspection body Valoritalia Ltd. 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 hundreds of dollars a bottle.