Pieter Colpaert

And in this case, there's this documentary that you might have heard of called Sour Grapes.

It's about one of the most notorious cases of wine fraud. It involves Rudy Kurniawan. He's this Indonesian wine collector who was convicted of selling millions and millions of dollars worth of counterfeit wines. So this guy, for years, he would mix cheaper wines together and then just pass them off as rare, expensive vintages.

It's about one of the most notorious cases of wine fraud. It involves Rudy Kurniawan. He's this Indonesian wine collector who was convicted of selling millions and millions of dollars worth of counterfeit wines. So this guy, for years, he would mix cheaper wines together and then just pass them off as rare, expensive vintages.

It's about one of the most notorious cases of wine fraud. It involves Rudy Kurniawan. He's this Indonesian wine collector who was convicted of selling millions and millions of dollars worth of counterfeit wines. So this guy, for years, he would mix cheaper wines together and then just pass them off as rare, expensive vintages.

And in doing so, he was able to fool like super experienced collectors, like billionaires, like William Koch. So they found that this guy sold as much as $550 million worth of fake wine. That's by far the largest wine fraud case in history.

And in doing so, he was able to fool like super experienced collectors, like billionaires, like William Koch. So they found that this guy sold as much as $550 million worth of fake wine. That's by far the largest wine fraud case in history.

And in doing so, he was able to fool like super experienced collectors, like billionaires, like William Koch. So they found that this guy sold as much as $550 million worth of fake wine. That's by far the largest wine fraud case in history.

You know, I think he was a master at exploiting the trust and lack of transparency in the high-end wine market. This is someone who had an encyclopedic knowledge of rare wines. So he was able to create elaborate fakes, you know, very convincing fabricated labels and bottles.

You know, I think he was a master at exploiting the trust and lack of transparency in the high-end wine market. This is someone who had an encyclopedic knowledge of rare wines. So he was able to create elaborate fakes, you know, very convincing fabricated labels and bottles.

You know, I think he was a master at exploiting the trust and lack of transparency in the high-end wine market. This is someone who had an encyclopedic knowledge of rare wines. So he was able to create elaborate fakes, you know, very convincing fabricated labels and bottles.

Yeah, I mean, it's a real thriller, this story. There's all these experts in the wine world that started to become a little suspicious of him, including this woman, Maureen Downey. She's like an eagle-eyed wine expert, and she started to notice minor inconsistencies in the bottle that he was selling. But still, it was hard to find like actual evidence of fraud. But then he got a little sloppy.

Yeah, I mean, it's a real thriller, this story. There's all these experts in the wine world that started to become a little suspicious of him, including this woman, Maureen Downey. She's like an eagle-eyed wine expert, and she started to notice minor inconsistencies in the bottle that he was selling. But still, it was hard to find like actual evidence of fraud. But then he got a little sloppy.

Yeah, I mean, it's a real thriller, this story. There's all these experts in the wine world that started to become a little suspicious of him, including this woman, Maureen Downey. She's like an eagle-eyed wine expert, and she started to notice minor inconsistencies in the bottle that he was selling. But still, it was hard to find like actual evidence of fraud. But then he got a little sloppy.

He sold several bottles of a rare Burgundy. This is a 1945 Domaine Ponceau Clos Saint-Denis at an auction in New York.

He sold several bottles of a rare Burgundy. This is a 1945 Domaine Ponceau Clos Saint-Denis at an auction in New York.

He sold several bottles of a rare Burgundy. This is a 1945 Domaine Ponceau Clos Saint-Denis at an auction in New York.

Yeah, I mean, just after World War II. And can you believe his luck? This auction was attended by Laurent Ponceau. This is the head of that winery. And this winery, it had been in his family for generations. So he knew all about those wines. And he knew that his family had not produced wine from that particular vineyard until 1982. So this guy was trying to pass off a bottle from 1945.

Yeah, I mean, just after World War II. And can you believe his luck? This auction was attended by Laurent Ponceau. This is the head of that winery. And this winery, it had been in his family for generations. So he knew all about those wines. And he knew that his family had not produced wine from that particular vineyard until 1982. So this guy was trying to pass off a bottle from 1945.

Yeah, I mean, just after World War II. And can you believe his luck? This auction was attended by Laurent Ponceau. This is the head of that winery. And this winery, it had been in his family for generations. So he knew all about those wines. And he knew that his family had not produced wine from that particular vineyard until 1982. So this guy was trying to pass off a bottle from 1945.

So that raised some obvious concerns. And then the FBI starts investigating. Long story short, Rudy Korniawan was sentenced to 10 years in prison in order to pay $28.4 million in restitution to his victims.