As we will see below, the world of wine has been marked by fraud since ancient times. In fact, In ancient Rome, lead was used to sweeten winesand some historians believe that Its consumption could have contributed to Beethoven’s deafness. However, few scandals, or possibly none, such as the one in the 1980s in Austria. It almost takes the industry and its customers ahead.
Check for the entire industry. In 1985, the Austrian wine industry faced one of the greatest scandals in its history when it was discovered that Several producers were adulterating their wines with diethylene glycola component of the antifreeze, to make them sweeter and attractive to the German market.
For years, the consumers of Germany, the main buyer of the Austrian wines, had preferred sweet white wines, which led the Austrian vinictors to Find ways to meet demandeven when the crops did not produce grapes with the desired amount of sugar.
The magical “component”. He Detaglicol Not only gave a sweeter taste and a dense body to wine, but It was also relatively cheap, costing just $ 5 per 1,000 liters of wine treated. In fact and for a while, the trick went unnoticed and even cheated experts in the sector. Moreover, in 1984 A wine contaminated with the substance even received a gold medal at an international fair in Yugoslaviawhich reflected how effective the method was to improve the perception of the adulterated product.
Fraud came to light when several German laboratories, by analyzing samples of imported wines, They detected dangerous levels of diethylene glycol in bottles from Austria. Some contained amounts high enough to cause renal and brain damage to consumers. When the scandal became public, the consequences were immediate and devastating.
Industry collapse. The reaction was relentless. Millions of liters of Austrian wine were removed from stores worldwideand countries like the United States recommended to their citizens completely avoid the wines of the nation until investigations will be completed. In Germany, more than 350 brands of Austrian wines were prohibitedwhich seriously affected the economy of the alpine country.
The situation was such that the industry entered an unprecedented crisis. Exports collapsed at 90% And the countries that previously bought large amounts of Austrian wine began to look for alternatives in France, Italy and Spain.
Tiring wine unpublished. More than 27 million liters of wine were destroyed with unusual methods: In Germany, contaminated wines were used as a refrigerant in cement factories, and in Austria, during a particularly cold winter, they were used to defrost roads.
While, The authorities arrested more than 30 peopleincluding the chemist Otto Nadrasky, indicated as the main responsible for adulterationthe man who provided the toxic formula to the producers. Had the New York Times in a report of the time That some of those involved were sentenced to prison, and one of the accused winemakers ended up taking his life after receiving his sentence.
The rescue of the industry. The scandal also had serious political repercussions in Austria. The opposition demanded the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture, Gunter Haiden, accusing him of having reacted with months of delay. The government of Chancellor Fred Sinowatz was forced to implement the strictest regulations from Europe for wine production, with thorough controls and more severe sanctions to avoid future adulterations.
However, those who ended worse unemployed were honest winemakers, for whom the damage was catastrophic. In villages like Rust, where much of the economy depended on wine and tourism, Many producers were on the verge of bankruptcy. Although some faithful customers continued to support certain local producers, the distrust of the general public in the Austrian wines took years to disappear.
Paradigm change. Despite the devastation, the scandal also forced Austria to completely reformulate its wine industry. The producers progressively abandoned their emphasis on sweet wines and focused on the elaboration of high quality dry white wines, such as the Grüner Veltlinerthat over time became a world reference.
Historians remember that He took a decade for the reputation of Austrian wines to begin to recoverthe same that today is recognized for its fresh, balanced and high quality wines. Be that as it may, the scandal is still remembered as one of the most shocking fraud in the history of wine, an example of how the search for rapid benefits can put the credibility and viability of an entire industry at risk.
That said, it has not been the only one, much less.
Fraud and wine. I explained it a long time ago The Spectator. Next to the case of Austria, the sector will always remember that of Rudy Kurniawan, who in 2012 was arrested by the FBI after discovering that he had a false wine factory at his home in California. Kurniawan mixed wines from different origins to recreate legendary labels such as Mouton Rothschild of 1945, managing to deceive collectors and high level auctions.
And cases like Kurniawan are just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout history, unscrupulous producers have resorted to adultere to improve or falsify wines. We already said it at the beginning, From ancient Rome to todaypractice has continued with more or less dangerous fraud. For example, In the twentieth century in Italy, methanol was addedwhich caused multiple deaths.
Even France. Fraud has also been common in prestigious regions. In France, before The implementation of the so -called APPLOTION CONTRÓLEE In the 30s, merchants diluted renowned wines with cheap wines, black currency juice and even beef blood to improve their color and structure. This led to conflicts in regions like champagnewhere in 1911 the wine growers rebelled with The motto “champagne or death”demanding the protection of its denomination.
And beyond commercial fraud, collection wines have also been an attractive target for counterfeiters. Hardy RodenTock’s casea German collector who in the 80s and 90s sold bottles allegedly belonging to Thomas Jefferson, is one of the most famous. A fact: in an auction, One of its bottles reached $ 156,000until a billionaire buyer, Bill Koch, hired an FBI exagent to investigate them and discovered that they were false.
Auction houses. The frauds have ended up implying third parties, since over the years it has been shown that Many auction houses have deliberately ignored falsification signs in order to maintain the lucrative sale of “rare” wines. In this regard, Specialists like Maureen Downey They have denounced that some of these institutions have been passive complicit in fraud, mainly by not applying rigorous controls.
So is it bad to adulterate? The Spectator ended one of his reports with a key question. While fraud has been convicted for health and ethical reasons, not all adulterations have been harmful. For centuries, Wines such as Bordeaux or Burgundy were reinforced with more robust reds in southern France To improve its structure. When this practice ended in the 80s, many consumers were surprised to discover that “authentic” wines were, in reality, lighter and less intense than they expected.
In fact, The Vintage Crime bookof Rebecca Gibb, explores many of these stories with a revealing approach. And, beyond the scandal, what all these cases show is that the world of wine has always been a mixture of tradition, deception and adaptation, where the line between authenticity and falsification is much thinner and more diffuse than many They would like to admit.
Image | Take er, Timelessmoon, Muskateller
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings