The most famous fraudster of them all is Indonesian Rudy Kurniawan (real name Zhen Wang Huang),who served seven years of a 10-year sentence in Texas for faking high-end wines (he was released in November 2020). The first person ever jailed in that country for wine fraud,he’s now,reportedly,back in Asia and busy mixing wines for people who want to taste his handiwork.
According to Maureen Downey,the world authority on wine fraud,Kurniawan is the star turn at dinners where the host invites him to make a wine that could
pass for a famous brand;the diners are invited to taste them both “blind” and often prefer Rudy’s wine to the original. He can,for example,create a passable
1945 Mouton Rothschild by mixing mature Californian cabernet with a good Bordeaux. This is the world in which we now live.
The other great faker was the late Hardy Rodenstock (real name Meinhard Gorke). Never charged,he’s alleged to have faked old vintages of Lafite,Margaux,Yquem and many more. Famous experts who tasted his wares raved about them,but who could possibly know how a 1787 Lafite,allegedly once owned by Thomas Jefferson,should taste?
Rodenstock died in his native Germany in 2018. He was probably just as clever a blender as Kurniawan;he just didn’t live long enough for the modern world to make him a celebrity.
Got a drinks question for Huon Hooke?
thefullbottle@goodweekend.com.au