More supply-chain woes as Bordeaux wine is apparently fighting a rash of fakes on the market. Things are made worse as the AFP reports a tendency by winemakers to deny there is a problem rather than deal with it:

Molyneux Berry [who is currently working for Koch gathering evidence for the upcoming trial against Rodenstock] agreed that the tendency was to keep quiet about fakes.

Because of the publicity associated with court cases, he said it was hard for one chateau to stand up and say what was happening. It would be better therefore for action to be taken as a group, he added.

Another French auction consultant, based in the western French region of Brittany, Giles de Pontavice, who offers advice on fake wines via his website VinorumCodex, agreed that legal action by chateaux was necessary.

Wonder if someone is going to advocate preventive measures as well as detective?

To help counter the problem, [Berry] has called for all top Bordeaux chateaux to put their name to a written statement that they would fight counterfeiting as members of a fraternity.

“That will put the fraudsters off completely,” he said. They could also support Koch’s case financially, he said.

Another wine auction consultant, Alex de Clouet, based in Paris, said he believed chateaux must take systematic legal action.

Legal action and written statements will put off fraudsters completely? Maybe the current generation of noble fraudster would be stopped by such measures, but if the prices remain high and the opportunity (vulnerability) for fraud is left unresolved…. Would winemakers ever consider using public-key crypto or a similar strong relationship with buyers to verify bottles/labels? Perhaps the wine consultants will evolve into supply-chain security consulting.