If You Buy Your Wine On Canal Street, What Do You Expect
Monday, September 27th, 2010
It's not a Ferris Wheel, Bueller
Joining the exciting world of faux Prada, fake Gucci, and Designer Imposters Perfume, now you can buy imitation designer wine as well! The Star article notes that, as with fashion, it is the cult labels that are more likely to be knocked off. It sounds hilariously easy:
Often, what the fraudsters do is simple – find bottles of wine that look similar and paste counterfeit labels of the higher priced wines on the lower-priced bottles. Then they market it to the unsuspecting customer, who is none the wiser until the bottle is opened.
This seems to be somewhat akin to drawing George Washington’s head on a piece of green paper, but what do I know? Vinsters (new word! use it!) are fighting back, with microchips, audio authentication (don’t ask), and…. AN ELECTRONIC TONGUE!
Of course you are thinking, “Don’t they sell those at Good Vibrations?” No, it’s not that kind of tongue. It’s “a pocket-sized probe [I KNOW, but still not that kind--ST] that uses chemical sensors to determine a wine’s characteristics.” The little guy (STOP) “measures and electronically records data on sweetness, saltiness, bitterness and acidity. It can even distinguish between grape varieties and years of vintage.”
I myself will never be a victim of this wine crime, by cleverly never spending more than $16 on a bottle of wine. The rest of you are on your own.