经济学人200:伪造的美酒 法国酒庄拉法克红酒

 　　Fine-wine fraud

　　伪造的美酒

　　Chateau¹ Lafake

　　法国酒庄拉法克红酒

　　The fine-wine boom is attracting forgers

　　美酒追捧热潮催生造假者

　　Taste is a delicate thing

　　味觉一种微妙的东西

　　WINE buffs are like art collectors.

　　葡萄酒爱好者与艺术品收藏者相同，

　　Few can tell the difference between a well-made fake and the real thing.

　　他们中很少人能分清真品与制作精良的赝品有什么区别。

　　Yet whereas counterfeit² art has been around for centuries, wine forgery³ is relatively⁴ new.

　　但艺术品伪造已经有几百年历史了，酒类伪造却还只是近几十年的事。

　　It started in the late 1970s when the prices of the best wines—especially those from Bordeaux—shot up.

　　20世纪70年代末期，由于精品美酒尤其来自法国波尔多的葡萄酒价格飙升，名酒伪造应运而生。

　　Today, with demand from China fuelling a remarkable⁵ boom, counterfeiting⁶ is rife⁷.

　　现在，中国对尊贵名酒的需求推动了名酒市场的繁荣,假冒伪劣酒也开始盛行。

　　By some estimates 5% of fine wines sold at auction⁸ or on the secondary market are not what they claim to be on the label.

　　据估计，拍卖会或二级市场出售的美酒有5%货不对板。

　　The simplest technique is to slap the label of a 1982 Chateau Lafite onto a bottle of 1975 Lafite.

　　伪造名酒最简单的方法是将1982年产法国酒庄拉法克红酒的标签贴到1975年产的拉菲红酒空瓶上。

　　Another trick is to bribe⁹ the sommelier of a fancy restaurant to pass on empty bottles that once held expensive wine, along with the corks¹⁰.

　　另一个伎俩是贿赂高级餐厅的调酒师，将盛装过昂贵名酒的空瓶和瓶塞一起拿到手，

　　These can be refilled with cheaper wine, recorked and resealed.

　　然后将空瓶重新灌装廉价酒，重新装塞，重新密封就完成了造假过程。

　　Empty Lafite and Latour bottles are sold on eBay for several hundred euros.

　　在eBay网上，Lafite和Latour红酒的空瓶通常价值几百欧元。

　　The margins¹¹ are fruity.

　　酒类伪造有可观的利润。

　　A great wine may cost hundreds of times more than a merely excellent one.

　　一瓶尊贵名酒的价格可能比一瓶单纯的优质酒贵上几百倍。

　　Small wonder that oenophiles are growing more vigilant¹².

　　难怪鉴酒专家们越来越趋于谨慎。

　　Bill Koch, an energy tycoon¹³ and avid¹⁴ wine collector, currently has five lawsuits¹⁵ pending¹⁶ against merchants, auctioneers and other collectors.

　　能源巨头比尔.科赫热衷于名酒收藏，他近来提起5宗涉及酒类的法律诉讼，分别状告酒商，拍卖师和其余酒类收藏家，案件至今未有裁决。

　　His grape-related gripes began in 2006, when he filed a complaint against a German wine dealer¹⁷ who sold bottles of Lafite he claimed had once belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

　　科赫先生对买红酒的抱怨始于2006年，当时他从一名德国酒商手中购买了很多据称是托马斯杰斐逊收藏过的红酒，后来发现有假而投诉了这名德国酒商，

　　The case is unresolved.

　　案子至今未果。

　　There is a code of silence in the industry, says Mr Koch, who owns 43,000 bottles of wine and estimates that he has spent 4m-5m on fakes.

　　科赫先生说：业界存在着一套潜规则，即买到假酒也要毫不声张。 他拥有43000瓶上好葡萄酒，但用于购买假酒的钱估计也在4-5百万美元左右。

　　Some collectors are too proud to admit that they have been duped.

　　有些收藏者觉得承认被骗不是件光彩的事。

　　Others fear sullying a vintage's reputation and thereby¹⁸ reducing the value of their own collections.

　　另一些则担心玷污了葡萄酒的声誉会降低自己拥有葡萄酒的收藏价值。

　　So instead of speaking out, they dump their fakes into auctions¹⁹ or sell them to other private collectors, says Mr Koch.

　　因此他们不会将事情张扬，而是"将假酒转手到拍卖会或出售给其它私人收藏者"，科赫先生如是说。

　　Wine merchants and auction houses say they are doing everything they can to filter out the fakes.

　　酒商及拍卖行表示他们正尽一切所能筛选出假货。

　　Simon Berry, the chairman of Berry Brothers & Rudd, a British wine merchant, says his firm never buys wines from before 2000 unless they come from its own cellars.

　　英国酒商贝瑞兄弟与陆克文主席西蒙贝里称他的公司从来不购买2000年以前的葡萄酒，除非它们真的来自出产的酒窖。

　　Christie's, an auctioneer, says all the wines it auctions are inspected three times by different people, using detailed²⁰ checklists for condition and authenticity²¹.

　　拍卖商佳士得称，它拍卖的所有名酒都要经过不同人反复检验三次，对他们出具的葡萄酒情况和真实度详单逐一对比验证。

　　Fear of fakery has not stopped the boom.

　　对伪造名酒的担忧并没有阻止名酒的市场繁荣。

　　But the wines that win the best prices at auction are those whose provenance²² is certain.

　　在拍卖会上竞得高价的名酒其来源也是真实可靠的。

　　In May, Christie's sold an impériale of 1961 Latour for $216,000 in Hong Kong.

　　五月份，佳士得在香港以21.6万美元拍售了一瓶1961产的impériale葡萄酒，

　　It came directly from the cellars of Chateau Latour.

　　它直接来自于产地Chateau Latour的酒窖。

1 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

2 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

3 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

7 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

8 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

9 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

10 corks   

n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞

参考例句：

• Champagne corks were popping throughout the celebrations. 庆祝会上开香槟酒瓶塞的砰砰声不绝於耳。 来自辞典例句
• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）

11 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

12 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

13 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

14 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

17 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

18 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

19 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

20 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

21 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

22 provenance   

n.出处；起源

参考例句：

• Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.加藤完全清楚这些珍宝的来源。
• This plant's provenance is Asiadj.这种植物原产于亚洲。