Press

2018

April 2, 2018 | A Greek Distillery Maureen Downey discusses the Chai Vault, wine fraud, and Rudy Kurniawan.

March 6, 2018 | Wine-Searcher Damaged wines from fires and floods come with a great price, but a risk on quality.

March 2, 2018 | SevenFifty Daily The Chai Vault and how to store wines on the block chain.

February 15, 2018 | Wine Enthusiast Maureen Downey discusses six tips to avoid wine fraud.

2017

May 30, 2017 | Der Weinverstand Brief All about counterfeit wines and what to look for. Article

June 28, 2017 | BBC Radio Maureen Downey discusses counterfeit wines and how to decipher them.

August 2, 2017 | American Greed Maureen Downey and others talk about the Premier Cru wine fraud and John Fox.

June 20, 2017 | The Times Maureen Downey talks about fraudsters buying empty wine bottles of eBay to sell as authentic

June 26, 2017 | Spectator Life Maureen Downey talks about how to spot counterfeits

July 16, 2017 | Wine Spectator After Acker Merrall sold counterfeit Krug, Maureen Downey talks about fakes in the market

Mar 10, 2017 | World of Fine Wine Anne Krebiehl covers the London Trainings and Maureen Downey

June 21, 2017 | House Keeper Maureen Downey gives advice for those looking to buy wine at auction

June 24, 2017 | Mirror Maureen Downey discusses wine fraud and wine counterfeiting

Mar 2, 2017 | South China Morning Post Maureen Downey’s Hong Kong Authentication seminar and takeaways.

March 2017 | Fraud Magazine An overview of some of the most high profile wine fraud cases.

Feb 17, 2017 | Forbes Asia A summary of the Training in Hong Kong by Jeannie Cho Lee

Feb 14, 2017 | The Drinks Business An overview of the Training in Hong Kong, and wine fraud.

Jan 22, 2017 | Forbes Asia How to avoid buying fake wine and our Trainings in Hong Kong.

Jan 22, 2017 | The Times London Wine Fraud Training recap, and a Sour Grapes review.

 2016

Dec 29, 2016 | The Australian The Chai Wine Vault launched powered by Everledger and Maureen Downey		Dec 29, 2016 | Cryptocoins News The Chai Wine Vault launch by Maureen Downey and Everledger.		Dec 26, 2016 | Decanter Wine Fraud, The Chai Wine Vault, and what to look for in counterfeit wines.
Dec 7, 2016 | Drinks Business How much counterfeit wine is in the world, and where it is sold.		Dec 11, 2016 | Blockchain News The Chai Wine Vault launches on the blockchain to protect wine authenticity.		Dec 12, 2016 | Blockchain News Everledger and Maureen Downey have launched the Chai Wine Vault for authentic wine.
Dec 9, 2016 | Finextra Maureen Downey and Everledger launch the blockchain solution Chai Wine Vault.		Dec 9, 2016 | IBS Intelligence The Chai Wine Vault launched to protect provenance and authenticity of wine.		Dec 9, 2016 | Financial IT Maureen Downey and Everledger launched the Chai Wine Vault.
Nov 18, 2016 | The Drinks Business Maureen Downey launched the Chai Wine Vault for authentic wines.		Dec 9, 2016 | Decanter How to spot fake wines in ten steps with Maureen Downey.		Nov 25, 2016 | Decanter Maureen Downey talks about the Chai Wine Vault and what that means for fine wine.
Dec 8, 2016 | The Drinks Business $550Million in Rudy Kurniawan fakes are circulating, and how this happened.		Dec 5, 2016 | Wine-Searcher The Chai Wine Vault, what it is, and how it works with Maureen Downey.		Nov 24, 2016 | Falstaff Maureen Downey opens up some of her counterfeit and authentic wines and talks about Rudy Kurniawan.
Nov 2, 2016 | CBS Calgary Maureen Downey attends the Calgary screening of Sour Grapes and joins the radio show to discuss Rudy Kurniawan.		July 2, 2016 | Wine-Searcher Maureen Downey shares her feels about new synthetic wines designed to taste like fine wines, but cost a fraction of the price.		May 30, 2016 | Good Food Revolution Kim Gertler interviews Maureen Downey about the Sour Grapes film, and Rudy Kurniawan

February 11, 2016 | Wine-Searcher Don Cornwell and Maureen Downey discuss Dragon 8 Auction House and whether the wines were authentic or counterfeit.

January 3, 2016 | Newsweek Maureen Downey and WineFraud.com contributor, Francis Dinklespiel, author of Tangled Vines, cover recent wine frauds over the last few years in America.

Jan 2, 2016 | America’s Test Kitchen America’s Test Kitchen interviews Maureen Downey about the secrets to counterfeiting wine bottles, and what to look for.

2015

Dec 3, 2015 | Süddeutsche Zeitung Susanne Schneider interviews Maureen Downey about Rudy Kurniawan, wine counterfeiting, and WineFraud.com.

Nov 30, 2015 | The Wine Write An interview betweeen Randy Smith and Maureen Downey about Wine Fraud, Chai Consulting, and everything in between.

November 13, 2015 | CNN CNN discovers how the demand for fine wine, and a lack of knowledge about wine creates a huge opportunity for counterfeit wines, featuring Maureen Downey.

Nov 1, 2015 | Wine Spectator The Authenticator: Wine Spectator names Maureen Downey as “The Authenticator” in it’s November 2015 Magazine.

October 6, 2015 | Filthy Rich Guide Maureen Downey covers not all expensive wines are authentic and the three main ways to tell if a bottle of wine is fake or real. Maureen begins at 12:12.

August 22, 2014 | WineChina.com The top 16 counterfeited wine producers and how only certain vintages are targeted.

August 22, 2014 | WineChina.com The top 16 counterfeited wine producers and how only certain vintages are targeted.

May 22, 2015 | Bloomberg Business Multimedia article “A Pinot Noir” by Claire Suddath discusses the FBI investigations that request Maureen Downey’s advice, including the French Laundry wine heist. Maureen discusses the theory of the wine being stolen to order.

May 21, 2015 | Bloomberg Business The Sherlock Holmes of Wine, top wine fraud investigator Maureen Downey discusses identifying counterfeit and stolen wine. Downey explains how to tell if your expensive wine is fake and the CHAI Method.

February 11, 2015 | Bloomberg News First she helped the FBI bring Kurniawan down, now Maureen Downey will help the wine world battle fraud with the first-of-its-kind tool against counterfeit wine. Elin McCoy explains how wine collectors, restaurants, producers, and vendors will benefit in “New Wine Fraud Website Will Help You Avoid Fake Bottles.”

2014

July 8, 2014 | Taste China Jancis Robinson interviews Maureen Downey about how she became the master authenticator.

August 7, 2014 | MarketWatch Expert tips from Maureen Downey on avoiding wine fraud, including checking the label, cork, size, age, source, and cost in “You may be drinking fake wine” by Priya Anand.

December 8, 2014 | Robb Report Dan Fredman, examines how much of the evidence against wine counterfeiter Rudy Kurnaiwan came from Maureen Downey, proprietor of Chai Consulting, a cellar management firm in San Francisco with particular expertise in fraudulent bottles. in “Expert Eye December 2014″

September 16, 2014 | Drinks Business In the wake of Rudy Kurniawan’s sentencing, Tom Bruce Gardyne gets Maureen Downey’s take on the fake wine world, including refilled bottles and caveat emptor in “A Word About Fakes.”

August 20, 2014 | Details Magazine “The Sherlock Holmes of Wine” Maureen Downey counsels fine wine buyers how to be sure you’re drinking the real thing with Anthony Giglio in “Fraud Prevention 101: What to Know Before You Spend $100K on Wine.”

August 8, 2014 | Decanter Magazine The real tragedy in the world of fine and rare wines per Maureen Downey in Chris Mercer’s “Wine Fraudster Rudy Kurniawan Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison.”

August 25, 2014 | SFWeekly SFoodie Maureen Downey documents losses of Napa’s wine producers in Anna Roth’s “Damage From Napa Quake Could Top $1 Billion” after she warned wineries and collectors to install earthquake protection in 2012.

August 28, 2014 | The Drinks Business Fake wine expert Maureen Downey explains who has been most victimized by the crime of wine fraud in Tom Bruce Gardyne’s “The Big Fake Fall Out.”

August 17, 2014 | The Independent Ralph Blackburn identifies Maureen Downey as one of the few people in the world able to tell an expertly faked wine from the real thing in “The Wine Detective: Meet the go-to expert for exposing fake vintages.“

September 5, 2014 | Groupon Wine expert Maureen Downey shares tales of being body-slammed and threatened for shining light on wine fraud in Charles Austin’s “The Surprisingly Dangerous World of Wine Fraud.“

July 5, 2014 | JancisRobinson.com In “Downey – Routing the Fakers,” Jancis Robinson (OBE, MW) features Maureen Downey and her efforts, trials, and tribulations in exposing wine fraudsters and helping wine lovers and victims of wine fraud.

July 4, 2014 | Financial Times Maureen Downey’s anti-counterfeit tools and wine fraud activism are not only yielding threats of bodily harm in Jancis Robinson’s “A Nose for Crime: Counterfeit Wines.”

June 13, 2014 | 20/20 ABC News investigates the multi-million dollar counterfeit industry with Maureen Downey in “What’s Really Being Poured Into Your Wine Glass?“

February 14, 2014 | The Drinks Business Lucy Shaw asks Maureen Downey fun questions made famous by Marcel Proust in “The Proust Q&A”. Topics include Maureen’s wine fraud database, Deer Valley, and sharks.

April 2014 | Decanter Magazine John Stimpfig meets Maureen Downey, the wine world’s own Sherlock Holmes, who is in demand after a high-profile conviction. She talks about her success rate in getting refunds for collectors with fakes.

May 15, 2014 | Wine Enthusiast Magazine Maureen Downey provides a guide to identifying bogus bottles to ensure wine collectors don’t get duped in “Is Your Wine a Fake?” by Andrew Hoover.

2013

December 22, 2013 | CBS Sunday Morning Five-time James Beard award winner Martha Teichner consults Maureen Downey on identifying fake wine and discusses Bill Koch and Rudy Kurniawan in “Counterfeit wine: A Vintage Crime.”

December 21, 2013 | France 24 France vingt-quatre profiles Laurent Ponsot and Maureen Downey at Rudy Kurniawan’s trial as they speak out about auction house and winemakers’ complicity in “Wine Fraudster’s Conviction ‘Tip of Iceberg’.”

December 19, 2013 | CBS New York Maureen Downey examines Kurniawan’s mistakes with CBS 2′s Tony Aiello in “Mistakes Doomed Wine Counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan.”

December 15, 2013 | Vanity Fair France Maureen Downey answers questions about Kurniawan’s fakes and how his trial will affect the fine and rare wine market in ”Les acheteurs ont perdu confiance dans les vieilles bouteilles” by Karim Lebhour.

December 8, 2013 | AP on Yahoo News Maureen discusses how the wine industry is fighting wine counterfeiting with Sarah DiLorenzo in “As Wine Fakers Get Sharper, Industry Fights Back.”

November 21, 2013 | Wine Spectator Robert Taylor gets Maureen Downey’s take on how much fake wine has hit the global wine market and buying wine in Asia in his article “Who Are They Fooling? (A Lot of Folks).”

May 10, 2013 | Decanter Magazine Mike Steinberger cites Maureen Downey’s experience with a major collector who owns fakes made by Rudy Kurniawan and praises his aptitude in “Counterfeit Wines: Scandal of the Century.”

April 14, 2013 | Centurion Magazine Maureen Downey’s “Oenological Expertise” featured in two-part story. In Part I, Michael Cavanagh covers Downey’s wine detective methods; in his second installment, advice on avoiding fine wine forgeries.

March 24, 2013 | The Guardian Matt Williams interviews Maureen Downey as a rare-wine expert to give evidence for Koch’s lawsuit in “Wine Fraud Lawsuit is Test of Bottle for Billionaire Bill Koch” highlighting widespread counterfeiting in the world of fine and rare wines.

Fall 2013 | Bostonia Maureen Downey tells Patrick Kennedy how to spot a fake wine. Entertaining interactive feature by Jon P. Brousseau helps you learn how Downey distinguishes truly fine wines from imposters.

November 2013 | Talk Radio Europe Spain’s PanchoCampo interviews wine detective Maureen Downey on identifying counterfeit wine and investing in wine.

2012

December 17, 2012 | KCBS Mike Sugerman interviews San Francisco-based wine investigator Maureen Downey on “About the Bay.” Read/listen to Mike Sugarman’s story here.

December 6, 2012 | The Drinks Business Maureen Downey named in “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Wine.”

November 14, 2012 | Inside Edition Maureen Downey featured in Lisa Guerrero’s report on counterfeit wine.

November 9, 2012 | United Press Int’l Maureen Downey featured in “Collectors Warned of Counterfeit Wine.”

November 8, 2012 | Financial Times Maureen Downey featured in article “Keeping cool and collected until the time comes to drink.” Read John Stimpfig article here (subscription required)

August 29, 2012 | SF Weekly Cover feature in “The Wine Detective: Maureen Downey Reveals Forged Bottles.”

August 16th, 2012 | Crime Inc – CNBC presents “Crime Inc.: Counterfeit Goods,” reported by CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla who takes viewers inside where the goods are produced and confiscated in a world of high-risk and high-reward. See video here

July 29, 2012 | Norcal Wine Maureen Downey gives tips for better storing and aging of wine to Fred Swan.

July 1, 2012 | Bloomberg & SFGate Maureen Downey’s investigative techniques featured in Elin McCoy’s “Phonies Make Wine Sleuth See Red.”

June 12, 2012 | BU Today Maureen Downey featured as wine sleuth in “Ferreting Out Faux Bordeaux“ by Patrick Kennedy.

March 3, 2012 | Financial Times Maureen Downey on FBI investigations into wine fraud and warning signs in “Cellar Beware” by Jancis Robinson. A shorter version of this article is published on JancisRobinson.com as “Fighting Fakes.”

March 9, 2012 | JancisRobinson.com Maureen Downey’s efforts in fighting fraud in the fine wine business are lauded in Jancis Robinson’s “FBI Arrest Rudy Kurniawan.”

February 17, 2012 – Maureen Downey featured in Wall Street Journal article “How to be sure the wine matches the label”

• Read article by Will Lyons here

2007-2011

December 9, 2011 -  Auction Tips on Jancis Robinson.com & Financial Times

• Click here to read the article.

December 15, 2009 – Maureen Downey featured in Wine Spectator article “Sniffing Out a Fake”

• Read Mitch Frank article here

July 18, 2009 – Maureen Downey on JancisRobinson.com & Financial Times “Burgundy’s Sherlock Holmes”

• Read article here

March 17, 2007 – Maureen Downey on JancisRobinson.com & Financial Times “Flushing Out Wine Fraud and Fakes”

• Read article here