Decanter World Wine AwardsFake Jacob's Creek sold in London
- Tuesday 29 March 2011
A Trading Standards officer removes fake bottles
Havering Council are warning retailers to be extra vigilant after officers seized 340 bottles of the counterfeit Australian Chardonnay from 19 retailers across the borough.
Pernod Ricard, owner of Jacob’s Creek, launched an investigation after receiving a growing number of complaints from customers about the quality of the wine they had bought.
Over the past week, the council has been seizing counterfeit bottles from the shelves of drinks retailers and corner shops.
While the contents of the fake Jacob’s Creek is of ‘substandard taste’, the council has stressed the wine poses no health risk if consumed.
William Adams, chief Trading Standards officer at Havering council, said the bottles had been imported from China and were being sold at around the same price as genuine Jacob’s Creek.
He said the only obvious sign of fraud was the missing ‘A’ in the spelling of ‘Australia’ on the lower bottom back label.
Councillor Geoff Starns, in charge of Community Safety in Havering, said the authority had ‘moved very swiftly’ to get rid of the fake product.
He added: ‘We don’t want consumers to be ripped off by buying illicit wine – and at the same time we want to protect jobs in local responsible retailers who suffer as a result of this crime.’
Have your say!
Jim
May 11 10:53
Perhaps Pernod Ricard wanted to deflect criticism of the wine's quality by claiming it was counterfeit
Mat
April 26 08:26
What tipped them off that it was fake? Did it actually taste half decent?
Steve Knight
March 31 12:36
Wine may be too short to drink JC Greg, but have you checked your Grange or 1st growth Bordeaux labels? Can you be sure they are the real deal?
One can only hope that the British authorities take this home to China. There are invoices and bills of lading that can be traced back to the source.
Gareth
March 31 09:51
"He said the only obvious sign of fraud was the missing ‘A’ in the spelling of ‘Australia’ on the lower bottom back label."
And the 'Bordeaux' bottle for a Chard'y?