Where have all the David Biggs INVESTIGATES FIVE of the WORLD’S most infamous WINE HEISTS
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herever you find items of value you will find some devious human plotting to steal them. Jewellery, works of fine art, classic cars and—yes—fine wines have all been the subject of carefully plotted heists over the years. This raises an interesting thought: what exactly do we understand by “value”? An Aston Martin is considered to be many times more valuable than a Toyota, but why? They both carry passengers safely from place to place in much the same time. The one costs more to insure and maintain than the other, but people recognise the one as being “valuable” while the other is just ordinary. Collectors will bid millions for a painting by Van Gogh, but scorn an excellent copy of the same painting. Both will look equally attractive on your wall, but the one is a valuable treasure while the other is just décor. Similarly, certain wines are regularly sold for thousands of dollars a bottle on auction, while lesser labels are knocked down for a fraction of that price. An interesting aspect of this is that the collector’s thousand-dollar bottle will probably never be opened. An hour after 1 4
the cork is removed, it is worthless, so it is kept firmly sealed under lock and key and shown to admiring friends. By the time it is inherited by the buyer’s heirs it is probably completely undrinkable. But we recognise that it is “valuable.” None of these “valuable” items are essential to our wellbeing. They are only valuable because so-called experts tell us they are. Wealthy buyers collect them because they indicate to the world that they are successful. Nobody “needs” a Picasso painting. On the other hand, we would die if we did not have water. Why is water not considered more valuable than art? Reports of recent arrests of high-flying corrupt politicians have often included lists of the exotic cars owned by the crooks. They are owned simply for the status of owning them. They say: “See how wealthy I am.”
Back to the matter of valuable wines; one of the complicating ideas is the fact that without seeing the label very few people can actually distinguish between a great wine and a good one. This is why there have been instances of crooks stealing labels, rather than bottles, and dressing up inferior wines as valuable classics. Is anybody confident enough to take a sip and declare: “This is not a ‘95 Lafite”? In fact, there are hundreds of cheap wines out there right now dressed in stolen labels and masquerading as wine royalty.
SOUTH AFRICAN CONNOISSEUR
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2020/11/19 15:04
