I Love Wine!
Last week was #NationalDrinkWineDay, and I shared some of the great health benefits of wine…my link is at the end of this story.
For this week’s “Cult Movie Monday”, I want to share a terrific documentary about wine – or more seriously:
FAKE WINE!
“Cult Movie Monday: Sour Grapes!”
This terrific documentary is currently on Netflix, and tells the story of the fine and rare wine auction market – focusing on Rudy Kurniawan:
Appearing on the wine scene just as prices for rare vintages of soaring, Kurniawan was profiled by newspapers and magazines, and befriended the rich and powerful while selling astronomically priced wine through the top auction houses.
Here is the trailer:
The story of Rudy Kurniawan is fascinating: he’s a rich Indonesian wine collector with a fascination for Burgundy, and he spent millions of dollars on wine – oh, and as the movie unfolds you find out that he was behind the sale of countless bottles of fake wine.
The film has terrific interviews with Author and Wine Lover Jay McInernay, as well as Investigative Reporter Corie Brown, and even Billionaire Charles Koch, one of the investors swindled by Kurniawan.
Acker Merrall & Condit, an auction company, broke records by selling $35 million worth of Kurniawan’s wines in 2006. In 2008, the firm held a sale at a Manhattan restaurant, promising the wines would be authenticated by “some of Burgundy’s most discerning connoisseurs.” Included were alleged bottles of Domaine Ponsot Clos Saint-Denis from the years 1945, 1949 and 1966, but an estate proprietor reveals in the film that the wine had not been produced until 1982.
From there, the documentary became a great investigative thriller. I highly recommend this movie!
There is a great book I have called “The Billionaire’s Vinegar”, about the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold, and the mystery surrounding it…these stories about what is “real” and what is “fake” in the world of wine will continue, as fine wine routinely sells for thousands of dollars a bottle…
Now, back to the real stuff:
Yes, wine has incredible health benefits, and you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to find great bottles…here are some of my favorite reasons to drink wine:
https://johnrieber.com/2019/02/18/its-national-wine-day-2018-toast-to-natures-magical-elixir-2/
Let me know what you think of this great documentary!