Well, I guess it was just a matter of time until the resourceful knock off artists targeted high end wines. Given that China's upwardly mobile citizens are quick to show off their new wealth and supposed sophistication. The Chinese are apparently using their new wealth to consume imported wine and other luxuries. This, in turn, has led foreign producers into looking to unlock the lucrative Chinese market. According to the Wine Institute, China is the fifth largest foreign market for wines. Even Yao Ming, the former NBA basketball star, is getting into the wine business by importing a Napa Valley Cabernet that retails for almost $ 300 a bottle.
All of this opens the way for knock off artists. The Chinese market is particularly vulnerable to the knock offs because the allure is more about the label and less about the way the wine pairs with the meal. As relatively newcomers to the higher end wines, the Chinese in general have a less well developed palate. Also helping the counterfeiters is China's inconsistent enforcement (that is no surprise).
You have to give it to the counterfeiters. They found a weakness in the consuming public, in enforcement, and an easy way to knock off high end wines. The two primary ways that the counterfeiters do their work is to purchase or obtain emptied bottles of high end wines and refilling them or tweaking the label slightly. Not much different than the way they counterfeit almost anything else. So, when in China, be careful when ordering that imported wine.
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