Counterfeit wine expert Maureen Downey’s advice boils down to one message: “Just keep screaming”. We are regularly asked why we are so reluctant to address the issue of counterfeiting, given its prevalence in our markets.
But with no solid numbers to hand, and a fine wine market that was only beginning to find its feet, none of us wanted to crush the growth, or worse, be called Chicken Little. Or even, as Downey jokingly refers to herself, as “that crazy blonde from California”.
The industry publication drinks business puts the global figure for fake wine at 20 per cent by sales value. If we accept that figure, the counterfeit issue not exactly the acorn to the head that makes Chicken Little think the sky is falling – it’s an entire oak tree.
Why has this problem persisted in Hong Kong for so long? Many attribute it to the Asian fear of losing face, or the Asian lack of fine wine education. We think that Downey’s statement that Asians don’t have the generational experience with fine wine that exists in the Old World is true for the most part, and also broadly true in markets like the US.
Plus, the removal of duty created myriad questionable sources for fine wine.
There is, of course, the fear of the consequences of being the whistleblower. Even those with the best intentions can get into serious trouble if they go about it the wrong way.