In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinaire

by Peter Hellman

Overview

As seen on ABC’s The Con, the “engrossing” (Wall Street Journal) story of the biggest con in wine history

In 2002, Rudy Kurniawan, an unknown twentysomething, burst into the privileged world of ultrafine wines. Blessed with a virtuoso palate, and with a seemingly limitless supply of coveted bottles, Kurniawan quickly became the leading purveyor of rare wines to the American elite. But in April 2008, at a New York auction house, dozens of Kurniawan’s trophy bottles were abruptly pulled from sale. Journalist Peter Hellman was there, and he began to investigate: Were the bottles fake? Were there others? And was Kurniawan himself a dupe . . . or had he ensnared the world’s top winemakers, sellers, and drinkers in a web of deceit?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615194957
Publisher:	The Experiment, LLC
Publication date:	08/21/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	456,308
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Peter Hellman, a New York–based journalist and author for more than 40 years, has been a contributor to Wine Spectator for more than a decade. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, and many others. His books include When Courage Was Stronger than Fear, Chief!, and Fifty Years After Kitty Genovese. He and his wife, Susan, live in New York City.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 Becoming Dr. Conti 1

Chapter 2 Underside of an Auction 27

Chapter 3 The Man from Morey-Saint-Denis 43

Chapter 4 The Auctioneer 61

Chapter 5 Collapse of the Con 77

Chapter 6 The Sheriff 103

Chapter 7 The Takedown 125

Chapter 8 Before a jury of His Peers 153

Chapter 9 Aftershocks 193

Epilogue 209

Notes 224

Acknowledgments 244

Photo Credits 247

About the Author 248

Editorial Reviews

"Journalist Peter Hellman spent years following the strange saga of Rudy Kurniawan, who in 2013 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling untold millions of dollars in fake rare vintages. Hellman tells the phenomenal story of the mysterious fraudster in In Vino Duplicitas."

Wine Enthusiast

"2017 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner

"An engrossing account of wine fraud and forgery . . . Hellman clearly knows his stuff."

The Wall Street Journal

"In Vino Duplicitas is a fast-paced and suspenseful real-life thriller brimming with rich, vivid detail."

Apple’s iBooks Best Book of July

"A deep dive into the culture that nurtured Kurniawan, and the forces that destroyed him."

Wine Spectator

"Heady, intoxicating . . . shines a light on the esoteric and intriguing world of ultrarare, ultrafine wines."

starred review Foreword

"Well written and carefully researched."

The Journal of Wine Economics

"[A] compelling mix of wine devotion (journalist Hellman’s included) and true crime (complete with avenging furies, from a bloody-minded Koch brother to a passionate French vintner)."

Maclean’s

★ 2017 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner

“An engrossing account of wine fraud and forgery . . . Hellman clearly knows his stuff.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Heady, intoxicating . . . shines a light on the esoteric and intriguing world of ultrarare, ultrafine wines.”—Foreword Reviews, starred review

“In Vino Duplicitas is a cautionary tale of how we can let the romance of wine get the better of us. Kurniawan preyed on rich collectors, but most vinophiliacs have experienced the seductive lure of a rare or expensive bottle of wine. None of us are immune.”—Washington Post

“Hellman, a veteran journalist who covered [Kurniawan’s] case, allows the story to unfold with spare prose. He presents, without overt judgment, the macho, competitive, one-upmanship world of the collectors, an atmosphere that perhaps contributed to their gullibility in the high-rolling economy of the early 2000s.”—The New York Times

“[A] compelling mix of wine devotion (journalist Hellman’s included) and true crime (complete with avenging furies, from a bloody-minded Koch brother to a passionate French vintner).”—Maclean’s

“A deep dive into the culture that nurtured Kurniawan, and the forces that destroyed him.”—Wine Spectator

“Like Law Order for oenophiles, In Vino Duplicitas is a true crime account set among the cognoscenti of the wine world.”—Imbibe

“Journalist Peter Hellman spent years following the strange saga of Rudy Kurniawan, who in 2013 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling untold millions of dollars in fake rare vintages. Hellman tells the phenomenal story of the mysterious fraudster in In Vino Duplicitas.”—Wine Enthusiast

“A captivating story . . . Hellman’s voice is that of the amused but compassionate observer. He saves his disdain for those who seemed to have colluded in the scam, the auctioneers and rich collectors so eager for economic gain and status that they willfully ignored the evidence in front of them. By definition, rare wines are in finite supply. It is perhaps this underlying matter of motivation that does most to deepen the satisfaction of this well-told story.”—Times Literary Supplement

“In Vino Duplicitas is a fast-paced and suspenseful real-life thriller brimming with rich, vivid detail.”—Apple’s iBooks Best Book of July

“[An] absorbing account of true crime in high society.”—Publishers Weekly

“Well written and carefully researched.”—The Journal of Wine Economics

“Peter Hellman led the way in reporting on Rudy Kurniawan’s monumental fraud, and he has written the book it deserves: tenaciously researched, propulsively told, and infused with earned wisdom about the wine world. I found it hard to put In Vino Duplicitas down and, like one of the authentically magical bottles the book describes, it will linger in your mind.”—Benjamin Wallace, author of The Billionaire’s Vinegar

“A page-turning cautionary tale about the elite world of wine, and a gripping and disturbing read. You won’t be able to put it down.”—Frances Dinkelspiel, author of Tangled Vines

“The best account of fraudster Rudy Kurniawan to date. Riveting, deftly-researched, entertaining, it’s a page-turner that reveals all sorts of new details about the largest wine fraud in history.”
—Mark Oldman, author of How to Drink Like a Billionaire

“An exciting page-turner.”—George Taber, author of Judgment of Paris

“Well-researched and enjoyable.”—World of Fine Wine

“Hellman is an excellent storyteller. He is also a meticulous journalist. In a story which has been covered so many times by so many different people. . . Hellman has managed to sift through the swirling nebulae of rumor, conjecture, evidence and facts and pull together a compelling and systematic account of how this mind-boggling fraud took place.”—JancisRobinson.com

From the Publisher

05/22/2017
A swindler with an affinity for fine wine bilks hundreds of millions of dollars from the super rich, in this absorbing account of true crime in high society. Journalist Hellman (When Courage Was Stronger Than Fear) tells the story of Rudy Kurniawan, who holds the distinction of being the only person ever convicted in a federal court of selling counterfeit wine, beginning with his entry into the California wine scene in 2002 and proceeding with his developing passion for Burgundy wines, his massive counterfeiting operation, and his arrest and trial in 2013. Kurniawan’s lavish spending at auctions and his genuine ability as a taster made him a sought-after companion for überwealthy wine collectors, who subsequently became his victims. Many of his clients were buisnessmen—dotcom moguls, oil executives, and stockbrokers among them—new to the scene. The fact that few people had ever tasted the rare wines Kurniawan acutioned off from his collection made it all too easy for him: he was essentially selling labels (sometimes photocopied) rather than the contents of the bottle. Hellman interviews many of the major players in this drama, including French winemaker Laurent Ponsot, whose crusade to protect the reputation of Burgundy was instrumental in Kurniawan’s downfall, and billionaire Bill Koch, who zealously investigated the fraudster. Notably, the book draws attention to the lasting effects of Kurniawan’s crimes, which changed the way the wine trade does business and sullied the names of internationally renowned auction houses and wine experts. Hellman’s description of the aftermath of the scandal and insight into the Kurniawan family’s murky history add a touch of poetic justice to this sad, fascinating affair. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"The best account of fraudster Rudy Kurniawan to date. Riveting, deftly-researched, entertaining, it’s a page-turner that reveals all sorts of new details about the largest wine fraud in history."

Mark Oldman

"In Vino Duplicitas is a cautionary tale of how we can let the romance of wine get the better of us. Kurniawan preyed on rich collectors, but most vinophiliacs have experienced the seductive lure of a rare or expensive bottle of wine. None of us are immune."

Washington Post

"A page-turning cautionary tale about the elite world of wine, and a gripping and disturbing read. You won’t be able to put it down."

Frances Dinkelspiel

"Like Law & Order for oenophiles, In Vino Duplicitas is a true crime account set among the cognoscenti of the wine world."

Imbibe

"Peter Hellman led the way in reporting on Rudy Kurniawan’s monumental fraud, and he has written the book it deserves: tenaciously researched, propulsively told, and infused with earned wisdom about the wine world. I found it hard to put In Vino Duplicitas"

Benjamin Wallace

"A captivating story . . . Hellman’s voice is that of the amused but compassionate observer. He saves his disdain for those who seemed to have colluded in the scam, the auctioneers and rich collectors so eager for economic gain and status that they willfully ignored the evidence in front of them. By definition, rare wines are in finite supply. It is perhaps this underlying matter of motivation that does most to deepen the satisfaction of this well-told story."

Times Literary Supplement

"Hellman, a veteran journalist who covered [Kurniawan’s] case, allows the story to unfold with spare prose. He presents, without overt judgment, the macho, competitive, one-upmanship world of the collectors, an atmosphere that perhaps contributed to their gullibility in the high-rolling economy of the early 2000s."

The New York Times

The highly skilled Charles Constant does his best to maintain listener interest as he narrates Hellman’s detailed factual account of a wine forger’s exploits and ultimate undoing. Chinese-Indonesian Rudy Kurniawon, a most unlikely criminal, was the purveyor of choice for American intelligentsia seeking rare wines in the early 2000s. Hellman, a journalist whose work has often appeared in WINE SPECTATOR magazine, has chosen to err on the side of “more is more.” His writing is articulate and effective, if not efficient in its account of the story. Constant is spot-on in tone, pacing, warmth, enthusiasm, and remarkably perfect French pronunciation. This is a must-listen for oenophiles, a complex crime story for others. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2017 - AudioFile