Latest news with #MaureenDowney
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Warning issued as Britain 'flooded' with fake vino - as the 'Sherlock Holmes of wine' reveals how to spot the difference
Britain is being 'flooded' with fake versions of popular vinos, according to the ' Sherlock Holmes of wine' who has revealed how to tell the difference. Organised criminals are manufacturing 'high-end counterfeits' of well-known labels sold in British supermarkets and off-licences such as Yellow Tail, Maureen Downey told The Wine Blast Podcast. The Australian brand distributes 13.5million cases of wine across the world every year, including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and is distinguishable by its black glass bottles wrapped in colourful labels with kangaroo art work. The expert said the bottles are being replicated 'to a professional degree' on an 'unprecedented degree' which has never been seen before. Ms Downey said: 'An Asian organised crime gang has partnered with a European organised wine gang to flood the market with counterfeit Yellow Tail.' In order to make such accurate copies, she claimed the gangs are spending half a million dollars to get the same digital printer used by the brands producers. Wine counterfeiters previously focussed on make replicas of old and rare bottles as they were the most profitable. However, Ms Downey said they have moved away from this because it requires sourcing period glass, ageing the labels and making sure the cork is ok. 'Now, they just have it all made to the same specs that the producers use. It's a different game. It's much more money. The average consumer is pretty screwed,' she added. The wine aficionado said those who drink Yellow Tail regularly would be able to tell the difference in the same way a Coca-Cola fan would know if they had been given Pepsi. It may be harder for people who are trying it for the first time or only drink it occasionally. Some other ways of checking include inspecting the bottle for spelling mistakes, poor print quality, watermarks and missing information on labels. But Ms Downey said it's easier nowadays to 'replicate wines at scale'. Even distributors do not always know what to look for because many producers keep their anti-fraud measures 'so secret'. In 2021, KVK supermarket in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, had its alcohol licence removed after a trading standards investigation found 41 fake bottles of Yellow Tail following reports from customers that the bottles of wine did not taste right. The following year, a 142 bottles of counterfeit Yellow Tail were found in a shop in Leicestershire. Shopkeeper Kannan Vigneswaran was ordered to pay £4,000 after admitting to buying the wine from a man in an unmarked van offering a deal. Presenter of The Wine Blast podcast, Peter Richards, said: 'It's not just fine and rare wines. You constantly read about producers or merchants being convicted for blending X into Y and calling it Z.' He revealed a Yellow Tail source had confirmed the scale of the issue and revealed 100,000 cases of fake Yellow Tail had allegedly been produced by a criminal gang in Moldova. Mr Richards called it 'an industrial level' scale of production and said Yellow Tail have pursued the problem legally but as they 'don't have much hope of any conviction' the best they can do is monitor shipments 'as closely as they can'.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK ‘flooded' with fake wine
The UK market is being flooded with convincing knock-offs of popular wines, says a leading fraud expert. Maureen Downey, known as the 'Sherlock Holmes of wine', said organised criminals are producing 'high-end counterfeits' of labels such as Yellow Tail, the second-largest brand in UK supermarkets. She said that wine bottles are being replicated 'to a professional degree' never seen before. Yellow Tail, an Australian brand selling Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Grigio, sells 13.5 million cases worldwide each year and is widely available in supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA and Morrisons. Ms Downey told the Wine Blast podcast: 'An Asian organised crime gang has partnered with a European organised wine gang to flood the market with counterfeit Yellow Tail.' 'The crime rings are spending half a million dollars to get the same digital printer used by the professional producers. They're replicating bottles to an unprecedented level.' She added: 'They're no longer making old and rare bottles because you need period glass, you have to age the labels and make sure the cork is ok. 'Now, they just have it all made to the same specs that the producers use. It's a different game. It's much more money. The average consumer is pretty screwed.' She said it was interesting that the regular Yellow Tail drinker would be able to spot a counterfeit easier than somebody drinking a rare or vintage wine, 'because if you drink Coca Cola every day and somebody gives you a Pepsi, you're going to know the difference.' Ms Downey said it was easier today to replicate wines at scale. Many producers keep their anti-fraud measures so secret that even their distributors did not always know what to look for. In 2021, trading standards began an investigation following reports from supermarket customers in the West Midlands that bottles of Yellow Tail did not taste right. KVK supermarket in Sutton Coldfield had its alcohol licence removed after 41 bottles of Yellow Tail were found to be fake. In 2022, a shopkeeper in Leicestershire was ordered to pay £4,000 after 142 bottles of fake Yellow Tail were found in his shop. Kannan Vigneswaran admitted to buying the wine from a man in an unmarked van offering a deal. Peter Richards, presenter of Wine Blast, said: 'It's not just fine and rare wines. You constantly read about producers or merchants being convicted for blending X into Y and calling it Z.' Mr Richards said a source at Yellow Tail had confirmed the scale of the problem, revealing that a criminal gang in Moldova had supposedly produced up to 100,000 cases of counterfeit Yellow Tail. 'That's an industrial level. The company have pursued it legally, but don't have much hope of any convictions. Instead, they're monitoring shipments as closely as they can,' he said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
UK ‘flooded' with fake wine
The UK market is being flooded with convincing knock-offs of popular wines, says a leading fraud expert. Maureen Downey, known as the 'Sherlock Holmes of wine', said organised criminals are producing 'high-end counterfeits' of labels such as Yellow Tail, the second-largest brand in UK supermarkets. She said that wine bottles are being replicated 'to a professional degree' never seen before. Yellow Tail, an Australian brand selling Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Grigio, sells 13.5 million cases worldwide each year and is widely available in supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA and Morrisons. Ms Downey told the Wine Blast podcast: 'An Asian organised crime gang has partnered with a European organised wine gang to flood the market with counterfeit Yellow Tail.' 'The crime rings are spending half a million dollars to get the same digital printer used by the professional producers. They're replicating bottles to an unprecedented level.' 'Average consumer is pretty screwed' She added: 'They're no longer making old and rare bottles because you need period glass, you have to age the labels and make sure the cork is ok. 'Now, they just have it all made to the same specs that the producers use. It's a different game. It's much more money. The average consumer is pretty screwed.' She said it was interesting that the regular Yellow Tail drinker would be able to spot a counterfeit easier than somebody drinking a rare or vintage wine, 'because if you drink Coca Cola every day and somebody gives you a Pepsi, you're going to know the difference.' Ms Downey said it was easier today to replicate wines at scale. Many producers keep their anti-fraud measures so secret that even their distributors did not always know what to look for. In 2021, trading standards began an investigation following reports from supermarket customers in the West Midlands that bottles of Yellow Tail did not taste right. KVK supermarket in Sutton Coldfield had its alcohol licence removed after 41 bottles of Yellow Tail were found to be fake. In 2022, a shopkeeper in Leicestershire was ordered to pay £4,000 after 142 bottles of fake Yellow Tail were found in his shop. Kannan Vigneswaran admitted to buying the wine from a man in an unmarked van offering a deal. 'Industrial level' of production Peter Richards, presenter of Wine Blast, said: 'It's not just fine and rare wines. You constantly read about producers or merchants being convicted for blending X into Y and calling it Z.' Mr Richards said a source at Yellow Tail had confirmed the scale of the problem, revealing that a criminal gang in Moldova had supposedly produced up to 100,000 cases of counterfeit Yellow Tail. 'That's an industrial level. The company have pursued it legally, but don't have much hope of any convictions. Instead, they're monitoring shipments as closely as they can,' he said.
