Taiwan billionaire caught up in fake wine allegations

A billionaire wine collector has been linked to the sale of counterfeit bottles of wine that local media reports say could have a value of NT$1 billion (almost $31 million).

Wood Chen – the founder and former chairman of Taiwan electronics giant Yageo Corp – is reported to be the source of vintage Burgundy bottles sold through two high-end merchants, Top 100 Wine and UMC, that are suspected of being fake and have been sold to Taiwan's rich and famous.

The story emerged as a result of a tip-off to Taiwan's Business Today news service, claiming that one bottle from the Coche-Dury winery was called out as likely to be counterfeit at a high-end tasting session due to its taste and inconsistencies with the bottle. After the bottle had been traced back to Top 100 wine, other customers had started to check their own collections and uncovered other possible fakes.

Top 100 Wine owner Huang Huihong has agreed to accept returns and reimburse his clients, according to Business Today, and has reportedly said that the suspect wines came from Wood Chen.

Wood Chen is the brother of Pierre Chen, an entrepreneur and avid wine buff whose landmark collection of Champagne and Burgundy vintages, called The Epicurean's Atlas, is in the process of being auctioned off by Sotheby's and has been predicted to fetch around $50 million. There is no indication that Pierre Chen's collection contains fake bottles.

The billionaire has defended his collection, which he has been selling off since 2019, saying: "With many wines in a collection, having some bad ones is normal. My collection is extensive, and it’s impossible for all wines to be perfect. But linking me to selling fake wines is excessive."