Koch’s Jefferson lawsuit thrown out of court

Bad news this week for billionaire wine collector William Koch, who has lost his bid to reinstate a lawsuit against Christie’s that claimed the auction house “induced” him to buy counterfeit wine. As reported on db.com, the US Court of Appeals in Manhattan last week upheld a 2011 ruling by US district judge Barbara Jones dismissing Koch’s suit after finding that he waited too long to sue, agreeing that the statute of limitations had expired.

“For wine, timing is critical, the same is true for causes of action,” said US district judge John Koeltl, who was sitting on the appeals court for the case. “I’m very disappointed by the decision. The appeals judges dismissed the case for a technicality, although we know they got a lot of the facts wrong, but they’re the ones who decide what the facts are,” Koch said. “Christie’s got away with an incredible hoax,” Brad Goldstein, a Koch spokesman, told Bloomberg. Koch filed a lawsuit against Christie’s in Manhattan in 2010, claiming the London-based auction house had sold him counterfeit wine “for many years.”

Koch also said that Christie’s had “induced” him to buy four bottles of 1787 Château Lafite engraved “Th.J” that had purportedly belonged to American President Thomas Jefferson from German wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock in 1987 because Christie’s described the wines “positively” in auction catalogs during the 1980s. The wines were allegedly discovered in the mid-‘80s when Rodenstock claimed to have found a cache in a bricked-up cellar in Paris. Koch had the bottles tested in October 2000.

One of the purportedly fake Jefferson bottles

In dismissing the case last year, Jones said Koch knew the bottles were counterfeit and that he bought the wine out of a “desire to gather evidence against Christie’s.” Jonathan Lerner, a lawyer for Christie’s, told Bloomberg: “Today’s court ruling was clearly correct, Koch’s claims turned to vinegar a long time ago. The only hoax in this case was the allegation in the complaint that ‘no credible question’ had been raised about the wine until shortly before the complaint was filed.”

Koch should have made inquiries about the wine by October 2000, when a report was issued about its authenticity, the appeals court said. He filed his suit in 2010. A historian at Monticello, Jefferson’s former home in Virginia, issued a report in December 1985 that determined “no solid connecting evidence could be found between Jefferson and the Th.J wine.” While the report didn’t become public at the time, newspapers including the New York Times published articles saying there was “scholarly doubt” about the authenticity of the wine. Koch has previously sued Rodenstock and American auction houses Zachy’s and Acker Merrall & Condit for fraud.

Sex therapist launches low-alcohol wine to “arouse”

American sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer has launched a line of low-alcohol wines to help “relax” and “arouse” couples. Vin d'Amour Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon contain 6% alcohol, compared to the average 12.5%, along with Westheimer’s smiling face on the label. "My idea is that just the right amount of alcohol will awaken your senses and arouse you," the 83-year-old Holocaust survivor told the New York Post.

"I'm always saying couples should drink to relax, but not too much. If the woman drinks too much, she falls asleep and if the man drinks too much, he can't perform. It's the same problem for gay couples. With this low-alcohol wine, I am saying: ‘Relax, but don’t drink too much.’ If sex follows or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s about finding and communicating with a significant other,” she added. 

The wines, made from grapes grown in California, will go on sale in New York grocery stores and delis in early July priced at US$7.99-9.99 per bottle, with a portion of the profits going to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Gilt, a high-end Manhattan restaurant in the New York Palace Hotel, will also stock her Cabernet Sauvignon. 

“A little bit of alcohol is welcome as it makes people not only relax, but communicate better,” Westheimer told the Post, adding, “They will talk about their feelings, their hopes and their dreams easier than without alcohol, because there is less censure. But when people get drunk there is no way they can be good lovers,” she added. 

The pint-sized octogenarian has also launched a lingerie line, a book – Sexually Speaking, and Dr Ruth popcorn. The German-born therapist, who has 56,500 followers on Twitter, caused a sensation in the ‘80s with her straight-talking phone-in radio shows offering sexual advice. She also had a TV show, Ask Dr. Ruth, which aired worldwide.