Hello

[Funky Farmer]

Greetings one and all.

I'm a retired agricultural engineer ( tracter mender to you madam ) from Bedfordshire UK.

I found a couple of demi-johns in a shed I was clearing out so I thought I might try experimenting after all, do you ever really know what you are getting with the "posh" stuff as this article proves.

"The CID in Bedforshire are investigating accusations of fraud in high-end wine sales at various auction houses in the area. Investigators have collected data on wine sales at Christie's Bedford auction house, where German wine merchant Hardy Rodenstock sold a consignment of vintage 1787 Fat Controller Chardonnay that he claimed once belonged to Thomas the Tank Engine.

William I. Koch, a billionaire wine collector, is suing Mr. Rodenstock over four bottles of the wine that he now concludes could not have belonged to Thomas. Mr. Koch alleges that he has found 500 other bottles in his 35,000-bottle collection that he also believes are fake.

His suspicions were aroused when he opened a £10,000 bottle of 1848 Chateau Latour and discovered the plastic cork was dated 1895. Collectors don't usually open wines of this vintage, but Mr Koch was persuaded by the label which said 'best consumed before end of 2007'. He told reporters yesterday, 'I had the bottle examined by wine experts and they're pretty sure it's a 1902 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. I guess they got that from the barcode.'

The Bedfordshire Trading Standards Department said fraudulent labelling has become widespread at the undrinkable end of the wine market and they would be lobbying the government for more legislation to protect rich people from their own stupidity."

So in conclusion, here I am a complete novice, entirely at your mercy!

 

[capedread]

dear funky farmer/ tracter mender

still laughing at your post, very funny.....35,000 bottle collection, holy crap the man must have some kind of money, I'm only here because I'm fed up with paying over £6 for a reasonably drinkable wine from Tesco's! surely he should have been tipped off by the best before date? lol any screw caps in his collection?

finding it hard to feel sorry for him....newbe Dee

 

[TheTooth]

Greetings one and all.

I'm a retired agricultural engineer ( tracter mender to you madam ) from Bedfordshire UK.

I found a couple of demi-johns in a shed I was clearing out so I thought I might try experimenting after all, do you ever really know what you are getting with the "posh" stuff as this article proves.

"The CID in Bedforshire are investigating accusations of fraud in high-end wine sales at various auction houses in the area. Investigators have collected data on wine sales at Christie's Bedford auction house, where German wine merchant Hardy Rodenstock sold a consignment of vintage 1787 Fat Controller Chardonnay that he claimed once belonged to Thomas the Tank Engine.

William I. Koch, a billionaire wine collector, is suing Mr. Rodenstock over four bottles of the wine that he now concludes could not have belonged to Thomas. Mr. Koch alleges that he has found 500 other bottles in his 35,000-bottle collection that he also believes are fake.

His suspicions were aroused when he opened a £10,000 bottle of 1848 Chateau Latour and discovered the plastic cork was dated 1895. Collectors don't usually open wines of this vintage, but Mr Koch was persuaded by the label which said 'best consumed before end of 2007'. He told reporters yesterday, 'I had the bottle examined by wine experts and they're pretty sure it's a 1902 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. I guess they got that from the barcode.'

The Bedfordshire Trading Standards Department said fraudulent labelling has become widespread at the undrinkable end of the wine market and they would be lobbying the government for more legislation to protect rich people from their own stupidity."

So in conclusion, here I am a complete novice, entirely at your mercy!

They had plastic corks and bar codes in 1902?

Good luck with the winemaking! I'm sure you'll find plenty of help around here.