There's a rising epidemic of counterfeit wine in the United Kingdom. Over 25 percent of licensed alcohol vendors in some parts of the country have been found selling counterfeit bottles of spirits. In one BBC report, the inspector locates a bottle of wine with some egregious misspellings, including "Australia" and "responsibly." She warns of counterfeit vodkas that may contain dangerous levels of methanol.
There's no word on how these spirits are produced, but some fear that organized gangs are making large quantities of fake wines and liquors. In other instances, the counterfeiter will simply pour a cheaper wine into a more expensive bottle.
The problem is not limited to the UK alone. Chinese officials have noted a spike in counterfeit Canadian ice wine on shelves in their country (one estimate suggested that 80 percent of all ice wine available there was fake). The New York Times reported on the rise of counterfeit sorghum, a popular Chinese spirit.
Keep your eyes out. There's no reason this fake alcohol couldn't come to the United States. For more, see a post I wrote on my own blog, "Not Intent on Arriving."
Image by Rune T
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February 17, 2011
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