{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Zonda Wine Podcast","title":"Hunting Fake Wine with Counterfeit Expert Maureen Downey","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3028,"description":"She's known as one of the most respected counterfeit wine experts in the world — and on this episode, Maureen Downey takes us inside the billion-dollar world of wine fraud.\nOur conversation covers how Maureen broke into the fine wine industry, why she believes anyone serious about a career in wine needs to work at an auction house, and the inside story of how she helped catch Rudy Kurniawan — the man behind the largest wine fraud scheme in history — together with the FBI and American billionaire businessman Bill Koch. We also get into how counterfeiters are using increasingly sophisticated technology, how Maureen stays ahead of it, and why she believes wine crime will never go away.\nIf you collect wine, invest in it, or just love the industry, this is a masterclass on wine authentication. One that will make you second guess bottles that seem too good to be true.\nChapters:\n00:00 Wine Preferences & Personal Tastes\n01:52 Early Life & Wine Education Beginnings\n06:16 New York Fine Dining Career\n09:13 Auction Houses & Discovering Counterfeits\n13:35 Founding Chai Consulting\n15:04 Why Wine Fraud Persists\n19:25 The Rudy Kurniawan Story\n27:01 Types of Counterfeit Wine\n27:09 Building an Authentication Team\n33:55 Blockchain & the Chai Vault Solution\n36:13 The Broken Supply Chain\n44:12 The Role of AI in Wine Authentication\n46:16 Tools of the Trade: Authentication Techniques\n48:37 Closing Thoughts & Advice for Aspiring Experts","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/x1LISXT1sUshvDjGz7YrndjcV8PboPEiXgQeyfe3ie0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81Yzgx/NGM4MjY4OGZiMDk4/YmJlYzk0OTkyNjEz/ZjY2MC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}