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.

Jay-Z and Beyonce toast Obama with Ace of Spades

In a move befitting for hip-hop royalty, dynamic duo Jay-Z and Beyonce hosted a $40,000-a-ticket fundraiser for Barack Obama last night featuring a 350-bottle Armand de Brignac Champagne tower, as reported on db.com. Designed by Jeffrey Beers, the bespoke tower, composed of 350 bottles of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV, took centre stage at the glitzy event at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in New York.

“Floor-to-ceiling gold bottles fill the entire space. It’s beautiful, breathtaking. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in,” a spokesperson for the club told The New York Post. According to The New York Times, Obama kicked off the intimate dinner for 100 guests by thanking Beyonce and Jay-Z for their friendship. He went on to say that he felt a sense of kinship with Jay-Z because, “we both have daughters and our wives are more popular than we are.”

Beyonce’s speech was short and sweet: “I can’t tell you how proud we are to host tonight’s event with President Obama. We believe in his vision,” she said as she introduced the US president. The White House, which meticulously controls Obama’s image, is not expected to release any photos from the dinner. Before the event, Obama made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Jay-Z’s relationship with Armand de Brignac, produced by Champagne Cattier, stretches back to the Champagne’s launch in 2006, when bottles of it appeared in his music video for the single Show Me What You Got.

The fizz, a favourite of rappers such as Kanye West and Drake, is facing a false-advertising lawsuit from Krug and Dom Pérignon owners LVMH over claims that it is “rated the number one Champagne in the world,” which LVMH believes is “intentionally misleading consumers.”

Vin Gogh? Artist creates portraits using red wine

A New York artist has come up with a novel way of making the most of her leftover Cabernet Franc – using it to make portrait paintings. As reported on db.com, using a wax resist, 29-year-old Amelia Fais Harnas pours six to seven layers of red wine on top of white cotton in order to achieve the light and shade effects. To ensure the wine dries quickly, Harnas, an avid wine lover, has to work at around 27°C, rotating between four to six portraits at a time.

She discovered how to make the portraits by melting dead candle remnants in a coffee can over a propane grill and painting the wax resist on cotton bed sheets with an old paintbrush. “The idea of painting with wine developed slowly over a couple of years. I wondered if wine could be used as a pigment for my portraits and started experimenting with Cahors,” she told Solent News. “I'd love to be able to say it happened by accident, where I spilled wine and saw Jesus's face in it, but it really resulted from a series of what-ifs.

“I enjoy the challenge of trying to control the unpredictable nature of wine bleeding through fabric in order to channel the equally imprecise nature of a person’s character,” she added. Her portraits, many of which incorporate religious iconography, have been exhibited in New York galleries and Finger Lakes producer Damiani Wine Cellars, whose Cabernet Franc-based Vino Rosso is almost exclusively used in the portraits due to its deep colour and low residual sugar content.

"I’m intrigued by what effect wine quality will have on the works, and plan on experimenting with all sorts of grape varieties and regions to see how the colour, residual sugar and tannin content affect stain penetration, she told The Huffington Post. As to how long the portraits will last, Harnas is unable to give an accurate answer, though believes their ephemeral nature adds to the intrigue.

"I’m doing everything in my power to ensure they last as long as possible, but part of the excitement is how fragile the works are,” she said. Her works sell for up to £650, depending on their size, with a 20" by 16" portrait requiring just one glass of wine. Harnas plans to move to Paris to work on miniature portraits using French wine.

Lambrusco trending in London and New York

Lambrusco is experiencing a revival in both London and New York, particularly with younger consumers who aren’t burdened by the Italian sparkler’s negative connotations. As reported on db.com, in a recent New York Times article in praise of Lambrusco, wine columnist Eric Asmiov commented: “I’ve been delighted to see delicious evidence of its rebirth here in New York.

“Restaurants dedicated to the hearty, rich cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, like Via Emilia and Osteria Morini offer extensive lists of Lambruscos. Five years ago, I would have been hard pressed to find a handful of Lambruscos in retail stores, now I can easily put my hands on a few dozen different bottle,” Asimov added.

Liz Nicholson, wine director at Roman trattoria Maialino in Gramercy Park, has also noticed a surge in demand for Lambrusco from young consumers. “We have people coming in and asking for Lambrusco. Even if they don’t really know what it is, they’ve heard about it,” she said. In London meanwhile, Quo Vadis in Soho, Obika in South Kensington and Michelin-starred Casamia in Bristol all have Emilia Romagna’s largest and oldest Lambrusco producer – Chiarli – on pour.

Owner Anselmo Pellini (pictured) is passionate about changing consumer perceptions. “My big aim is to get Lambrusco taken seriously again. We take our winemaking very seriously and want to bring the quality message back,” he said, adding, “It’s a tough challenge as Lambrusco’s reputation was badly damaged in the ‘70s and ‘80s with the cheap, low-alcohol versions sold in the UK and US. Our wines are nothing like that – the majority are dry and around 11% abv.”

A listing at three Michelin-starred restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, voted the fifth best restaurant in the world at this year’s San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants, is helping to elevate Chiarli’s reputation. “What many UK and US consumers don’t know is that Lambrusco secco can be drunk throughout a meal. It pairs incredibly well with grilled meat, pasta and cheese,” Pellini said.

Ben Smith, communications manager at Enotria, has recently seen sales of Chiarli’s 100% Pignoletto, Modén Blanc Brut, soar in the UK. “People are going bananas for it, the British public can’t get enough of it,” he said, adding, “A lot of people think of Lambrusco as sweet, but the best examples are dry, clean and  refreshing. And at around £15 a bottle at the top end, they’re also incredibly good value.”

Mari Vanna

Stepping inside Mari Vanna is like entering a scaled-down version of Miss Havisham’s mansion before its slow descent into decay.

Entering through a hectic hallway with bicycles on the ceiling and pot plants covering every free square of space, the main dining space – an imagined living room of mythical babushka, grandma Vanna – is all glinting chandeliers, gilt mirrors, lace curtains, rustic rugs, Fabergé eggs and cupboards heaving with knick-knacks in an ensemble so sumptuous and satisfying, I could dine on the interiors alone. Furniture and accoutréments are French Regency meets chaotic kitsch – the Ritz during the Blitz. China geese nestle among empty wine bottles, while pickled roots rest ominously in jars and wistful Bolshevik lyrics float melancholically through the air.

Opening opposite the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge this March, the London outpost of Mari Vanna is the newest addition to the international Russian chain, which boasts sister restaurants in St Petersburg, Moscow and New York. Appealing to affluent oligarchs abroad – Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly a regular – Mari Vanna is unashamedly and endearingly over-the-top. Every last detail has been considered, from the ornate china salt sellers to the cut crystal glasses – even my handbag is given a pouffe of its own. Ushered to one of the exquisitely laid tables, I clock a picture frame with the words: “We are waiting for Lucy” inscribed in English and Russian inside – an adorable touch to make me feel at home.

Salmon roe blinis

Before ordering, we’re presented with a wooden paddle stacked with homemade rye bread and garlic butter flecked with salt crystals. Created by St Petersburg-based executive chef Alexander Belkovich, the menu – printed in both English and Russian on brown paper – is extensive to the point of intimidating, featuring a kaleidoscope of variants of Russian salad – who knew potato, mayonnaise and carrots could be tweaked in so many ways? After much deliberation, I opt for the beetroot and salted herring version, which arrives in a galleon-shaped cut crystal dish. Cold yet comforting, it turns my white bone china plate pink.

Next up is a quintet of blinis served with a small bowl of salmon roe – burnt orange spherical delights that look like they’ve escaped from Heston’s kitchen. As delicate as the doilies adorning the tables, the pancakes are light, fluffy, and an ideal casing for the salty salmon balls that burst in the mouth, filling it with saline fluid, assuaged by the temperate soured cream. I’d first tried the dish on Shrove Tuesday, when, having gate-crashed a Notting Hill dinner party, two tattooed travelling Russian girls pimped our pancakes with salmon roe, much to my delight. They left London for Moscow the next morning.

Courgette fritters and smoked salmon

I digress… Mini courgette fritters served with smoked salmon are wonderfully moreish, but could have done with more bite. A homely bowl of borscht meanwhile, proves the culinary highlight of the night. The purple broth of beef and beetroot served with a side of soured cream and pampushka – a garlic-topped bread roll, is so comforting and warming, it’s like a hug from the inside, the fragrant, beety broth enriched by generous dollops of cooling soured cream.

Disconcertingly, I’m as stuffed as the cupboards by the time the main event – chicken fitters with pickled cucumber and mash – arrives. Expecting goujon-like strips of fried chicken in breadcrumbs, I’m instead greeted by two meat cakes the size of Mr. T’s medallions, the interiors of which are moist and juicy, but prove insurmountable. The mash meanwhile, is rich and creamy, while the cucumbers offer a pleasing vinegar kick. My companion’s seabass is a wiser choice. Silky and aromatic, it falls off the fork and delights in the mouth.

Borscht

The wine list, featuring Russian sparkler Abrau-Durso and Château d’Yquem 1999, is small and ambitiously priced. Its diminutive size is a relief after the biblical array of dishes on offer. Side stepping the natural wine offering from Georgia, I opt instead for an Italian Chardonnay in the form of Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Pomino Castello di Pomino Bianco Riserva 2009. Its golden-hued contents is unctuous and divine, the oak judiciously judged, adding texture and depth without overpowering the ensemble.

If you have room for dessert, you’ll be richly rewarded with the likes of milky homemade vanilla ice cream sluttily drizzled with warm chocolate sauce and crêpes served with hand-crafted strawberry jam washed down with 5cl shots of homemade vodka, from the soothingly sweet honeycomb, to the autumnal apple and cinnamon. Mari Vanna is a one off. Its cosy interiors and hearty home cooking are a surprising comfort during our times of economic uncertainty. Gone are the days when we long for gloss and glitz; today’s diners yearn to nestle in the ample bosom of grandma’s floral pinny and be plied with reassuring retro classics. Before departing the dream-like landscape, be sure to pay a visit to the loos, home to fairy tales narrated by the Russian equivalent of Roald Dahl.

Mari Vanna, 116 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7PJ; Tel: +44(0)20 7225 3122. A meal for two with wine and service costs around £130.

Lot18 closes UK business

New York-based online wine retailer Lot18 has closed its UK operation just four months after launching. As reported on db.com, the members-only website shut its London office on Friday and will suspend all UK operations at the end of July. In a statement issued by the company, the closure was blamed on the dominance of supermarkets in the UK.

“Lot 18 has decided to close its operations in the UK at the end of this week. Unfortunately, the supermarkets’ stranglehold on the UK market proved too powerful for us to compete with and we have not experienced the anticipated growth rate,” it said. Supermarkets account for 80% of the UK wine market and have recently expanded online.

“Lot18 has just under one million members and just sold its millionth bottle,” the statement added. Six full-time employees will lose their jobs as a result of the London closure. Lot18's New York office made 10 employees redundant in early June. The company also recently closed its food division, Lot18 Gourmet, and its food and wine-themed excursion business, Lot18 Experiences.

The London branch opened on 2 March, with general manager for Europe, Will Armitage, saying the firm hoped to recruit a million members in the UK. Founded in 2010 by Philip James, founder of wine ratings and reviews site Snooth.com, the company raised US$45m in venture capital funding last year.

Lot18 reportedly generated US$25m in sales in 2011 and was expecting that figure to double in 2012. The company will remain active elsewhere in Europe, South America and Australia. Lot18 sources fine and rare wines worldwide for limited-time offers, which typically last only 48 hours. It specialises in sourcing rare single bottles. When contacted by Wine and the City, Philip James was unavailable for comment. 

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.

Rudy Kurniawan indicted

Alleged wine counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan has been indicted by a federal grand jury in New York on four counts and faces extradition to the East Coast state. As reported on db.com Kurniawan was formally accused by the jury of mail and wire fraud to sell counterfeit wine, defrauding a finance company, double pledging collateral, and scheming to defraud a California wine collector and a New York auction house.



The charges were filed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Kurniawan, 35, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles since his arrest by the FBI on 8 March at his home. According to a source in the US Department of Justice, Kurniawan will be imminently extradited to New York in a government plane by a federal marshal.



The indictment details how Kurniawan, an Indonesian national, allegedly “assisted in the creation of counterfeit wines” in a home laboratory. It describes Kurniawan as a wizard at concocting fake wines by mixing and matching younger, less valuable wines “that mimicked the taste, colour and character of rare and expensive wines.” 



The indictment alleges that during a search of his home, the FBI found evidence of numerous bottles being counterfeited, including a California Pinot Noir that Kurniawan had marked as “40’s/50’s DRC, ” referring to Burgundy estate Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Agents also found thousands of counterfeit labels for wines dating as far back as 1899, including labels for all the Bordeaux first growths as well as Burgundies such as Domaine Ponsot. 

The home operation was fitted out with hundreds of used corks, foil capsules and hardened wax which, when heated, could seal the mouths of bottles. There were also hundreds of rubber stamps for vintage dates, ranging from Château Latour 1899 to Screaming Eagle 1992. The FBI also found empty bottles of fine and rare wines ready to be filled and “recycled”. Several shipments of empty bottles were mailed to Kurniawan at his request by a New York restaurant he frequented.



Two auctions play a major part in the case against Kurniawan. In April 2008, 22 lots of purported Domaine Ponsot wines were withdrawn at the insistence of Laurent Ponsot, proprietor of the Burgundy estate, from an Acker Merrall & Condit sale. This February, 78 bottles of wine listed as DRC were withdrawn from a Spectrum auction in London. The indictment alleges the wines were fakes, consigned by a paid “straw man” for Kurniawan.



If Kurniawan were to be convicted on all charges, he could face up to 100 years in jail. More likely, according to sentencing guidelines, he would face 87 to 108 months. Asked about his client’s state of mind, Kurniawan’s lawyer, Michael Proctor of Caldwell Leslie & Proctor said: “He’s strong, very strong.”

Cannabis wine catching on in California

A number of California winemakers are secretly producing wines laced with cannabis, with Cabernet Sauvignon the grape variety of choice for the blend, thedrinksbusiness.com reports. “Pot wine is increasingly fashionable in wine country – much of the marijuana used for the wine comes from California’s weed capital Humboldt County,” Crane Carter, president of the Napa Valley Marijuana Growers said. “Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stag’s Leap district is thought to pair particularly well with pot,” Carter added.

According to Carter, pot wine delivers a quicker high than pot brownies, and the combination of alcohol and marijuana produces “an interesting little buzz.” He believes cannabis wine has a bright future in Napa, but for the moment, producers are making the wine in small quantities to be shared in “convivial moments with like-minded people,” according to wine writer Mike Steinberger.

Offered a cannabis cuvée at a Burgundy dinner in New York, Steinberger describes it as having “a pungent herbal aroma that called to mind a college dormitory on a Saturday night – that, or a Grateful Dead concert.” One Californian producer, who chose not to be named, said cannabis-laced wine is “the only truly original style of wine created in the New World.” He is just one of a number of winemakers on the Central Coast who are blending two of California’s most prized crops.

To make cannabis wine, one pound of marijuana is dropped into a cask of fermenting wine, which yields around 1.5 grams of pot per bottle; the better the raw materials, the better the wine. The alcohol from the fermentation process extracts the THC – the major psychoactive compound – from marijuana. Some producers opt for maximum extraction, keeping the wine in barrel for nine months before bottling it. In the ‘80s, weed wine was typically made with rosé, with bottles selling for more than US$100 due to the legal risk involved.

Today, possession of one ounce (28.5g) or less of marijuana in California is punishable by a maximum US$100 fine with no criminal record. Medical marijuana was legalised in the state in 1996. Cultivation of any amount of marijuana is a felony, though people who grow for personal use are eligible for diversion so long as there is no evidence of intent to sell. Would you be curious try cannabis wine?

Glenfiddich breaks world record at auction

An extremely rare bottle of Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky sold at auction last week for a record-breaking £59,350, at an event celebrating the distillery’s 125th anniversary. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, the 55-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve, one of only 11 in the world, smashed the record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold at auction.

Described by master blender Brian Kinsman (above right) as having “a very strong pear taste,” the bottle was bought by Mahesh Patel, an Atlanta-based real estate developer. Held on New York's Liberty Island last Thursday, the auction was co-hosted by Kinsman and Entourage star and environmentalist Adrian Grenier (above left). Proceeds from the auction will benefit SHFT Initiatives, the charitable arm of SHFT, a website founded by Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer to promote sustainability issues.

Late last year Grenier launched a sustainable wine, Stomping Ground 2009, a Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre Rhône-style blend made from organic and biodynamic grapes from sustainable vineyards in Paso Robles, California. "You don't have to be a stick in the mud to do right by the planet,” said Grenier, who offered up a surprise auction lot on the night – a date with him. “I’ll throw in a bubble bath,” he declared after jumping on stage with the auctioneer.

The whisky was created to commemorate the 110th birthday of Janet Sheed Roberts, granddaughter of Glenfiddich founder William Grant, and the oldest living person in Scotland. Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve has quickly established itself as the benchmark for fine and rare whiskies, with the first bottle fetching an unprecedented £46,850 at Bonhams in Edinburgh last December.

A second bottle was sold for £44,000 in February at an event hosted by Prince Harry at the Honourable Artillery Company in London in aid of Walking With The Wounded. "We're excited to have kicked off our 125th anniversary year in such an unprecedented and memorable way," said Lindsay Prociw, senior brand manager for Glenfiddich.