A wealthy American who discovered wine counterfeits in his collection has started a website dedicated to fighting fakes.
Russell H Frye created wineauthentication.com to offer ‘help, advice and a community to share experiences with’.
Frye is an associate of affluent wine collector Bill Koch, currently suing the German dealer Hardy Rodenstock for fraud over the notorious Thomas Jefferson bottles.
Frye created the site, ‘because wine counterfeiting has become a greater and greater problem for buyers and sellers of wine.’
The site, says Frye, is the first of its kind.
‘Up until now, there was no easily accessible resource available to help people determine the authenticity of these bottles,’ he says.
The site promises to provide subscribers with articles, a discussion forum, photos, and a bottle registry. It also lists techniques for neutralising counterfeiting.
It is still in its embryonic state. Thus far, the sole, apparently test post deals with a Boston Red Sox victory over the rival New York Yankees in American League
baseball.
Written by Howard G Goldberg in New York
