William Koch advisor helps stop wine fraud

Bordeaux Winebank has hired Michael Egan to head up its authentication service for collectors who want their wine purchases authenticated. Egan already advises billionaire collector William Koch as an independent consultant and spent 24 years at Sotheby's.

The negociant purchases its own stock directly from chateaux but will offer an advisory service to collectors who seek both pre- and post-purchase authentication of stock they buy through other sources. Egan says the main source for counterfeiting wine is old paper stock and printing equipment used to recreate fake – but convincing – labels.