Why are fine wines in the news?
Last year, worldwide sales of fine and rare wines continued to surge as cash-rich bankers and business people boosted demand for ‘trophy’ wines in the $1,000-plus bracket. But as demand and prices have soared, fine wines have become an increasingly attractive target for counterfeiters, and now the FBI and US Justice Department have launched a criminal investigation into alleged fraud in the international fine wines market. The FBI’s investigation will focus on whether auction houses, collectors and importers have knowingly sold counterfeit wine and ignored, or suppressed, doubts about its provenance.
