The Zonda Wine Podcast

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.

Our 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.

If 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.

Chapters:
00:00 Wine Preferences & Personal Tastes
01:52 Early Life & Wine Education Beginnings
06:16 New York Fine Dining Career
09:13 Auction Houses & Discovering Counterfeits
13:35 Founding Chai Consulting
15:04 Why Wine Fraud Persists
19:25 The Rudy Kurniawan Story
27:01 Types of Counterfeit Wine
27:09 Building an Authentication Team
33:55 Blockchain & the Chai Vault Solution
36:13 The Broken Supply Chain
44:12 The Role of AI in Wine Authentication
46:16 Tools of the Trade: Authentication Techniques
48:37 Closing Thoughts & Advice for Aspiring Experts

What is The Zonda Wine Podcast?

The wine world's biggest names. Unscripted. Unfiltered.

The Zonda Wine Podcast is the long-form interview show where industry legends — Jancis Robinson, Antonio Galloni, Laura Catena, Tor Kenward and more — sit down with host Shawn Zylberberg for the conversations you don't hear anywhere else.

No tasting notes. No technical jargon. Just the real stories behind the people who shaped the wine world.
New episodes dropping regularly. Subscribe and never miss a conversation.

🎙️ Hosted by Shawn Zylberberg | Industry Insider & Interviewer
🍷 Long-form | Unscripted | Exclusive Access
🌍 For wine lovers, collectors, emerging sommeliers and the wine curious