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Scamfluencers

ENCORE: Wine Crime

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.17K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The so-called “super-taster” is back at it again. In this re-run about the wine world’s most infamous fraudster, we revisit the story of Rudy Kurniawan. Using his extraordinary tasting skills, Rudy’s able to gain influence and rake in serious cash. But when wine aficionados start to suspect Rudy’s been lying, they blow the cork off one of the industry’s juiciest scandals.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Wundery Plus subscribers can listen to scam influencers early and ad free right now.

0:04.6

Join Wundry Plus in the Wundery App or Apple Podcasts.

0:07.6

Sarah, for better or worse, I get to learn a lot about you on this show.

0:12.6

Like one thing I will never forget is when I was explaining

0:15.6

what it was like to have a really good glass of wine

0:18.1

for the first time and you compared it

0:20.5

to your first sip of Baja Blast at Taco Bell.

0:23.6

That wasn't even an exaggeration either.

0:26.1

Like getting a Baja Blast from Taco Bell

0:28.4

from the fountain for the first time,

0:30.3

it changes something.

0:31.5

It changes something in you.

0:32.4

And that's, you never forget your first you know okay great well I know you're not a wine person but I am which is why I love the episode we did about a total wine snob who fooled everyone into thinking

0:44.3

his dupes were the real thing and he charged them so much money for it.

0:49.1

And Sarah, I'm thrilled to tell you there's actually an update on this story.

0:52.4

A wine fraud expert named Maureen Downey I'm thrilled to tell you there's actually an update on this story.

0:52.8

A wine fraud expert named Maureen Downey told Wine Enthusi

0:56.2

that Rudy is making imitation wines again, but this time he's doing so legally.

1:01.8

His wealthy clients actually requested that he make the

1:04.4

fake so that they can blindly taste them alongside the real ones and see if they can

1:09.2

tell the difference. These people have too much time on their hands.

1:13.0

Well, Sarah, some rich people need to find new hobbies.

...

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