The gang, which operated across Spain, Vietnam, and China used fake labels to pass off unknown wines as top cuvées, primarily from Rioja.
Dubbed Operation "Epígrafe" (Epigraph), the police investigation began after a Spanish holidaymaker spotted a wine sporting a label very similar to one produced by top Rioja estate, La Rioja Alta. The holidaymaker bought the wine and took it back to Spain for analysis in 2023.
The results confirmed that neither the wine, the bottle, nor the labeling were legitimate.
Police then swooped on offices in Valencia and Álava (Rioja) with seven people now under investigation with charges spanning fraud, membership of a criminal organization, crimes against industrial property and falsification of documents. It is understood thousands of liters of bogus wine was shipped from Spain to Vietnam.
The raids seized 17 fake brands, many of which ripped off already well-known labels, such as a "Beronica Tempranillo" based on the labels of major Rioja producer Bodegas Beronia. The 17 brands were listed as Beronica, Luxiumwine, 1910, 1/One, El Agar, Rozita, Marina, 1920, Ebro River, Bottle 1965, Vinaria de Luxium, Luxium Discovery, Cañas, Alto Rioja, Mauricio, 16 Pineal Ebro, Enriqueta and María Rivera.
The investigation also uncovered that an as-yet unnamed Rioja winery had used the illicit organization to ship wine to the Chinese market without that wine having the necessary documentation.
The investigation is ongoing as police try to establish just how many people and organizations were in involved, the volume of wine fraudulently exported and how much money was generated through the scam.
