I laugh at victims of wine fraud

WINE TALK
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(or at least this wine blogger does)

http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2012/07/09/question-what-do-you-call-5000-dead-wine-collectors-at-the-bottom-of-the-ocean/

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Chris, I believe the specific object of his derision is the wine “collector.” I must agree with him that this is a group I have little understanding of or sympathy with.

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Why would anyone be happy about someone being a victim of a crime?

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+1 It doesn’t matter why people buy wine - I don’t enjoy seeing them get ripped off.

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I am not sure why someone who makes his living as a wine writer would decide to post such a blanket insult to everyone who thinks wine is something worth keeping.

I guess if the only wine you have any interest in drinking is froot bombs that start to go downhill faster than a carton of milk, there is no point in being a “collector.”

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I agree on some level, but this writer comes across as very sophomoric. He derides these collectors and fraud victims, but in the same post he solicits our sympathy for him because all the time he had to spend time with big-shot collectors and Hollywood producers? What a tool.

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Well…when you write a (near) daily wine blog; you sometimes have to write with a provocative/rabble-rousing style in order to stir up your readership.
You got to [stirthepothal.gif] to get readership and stir up controversy…so you’ll get mentioned on other bloggers blogs. That’s the way those
wine blogs all work.
I thought, in this case, Steve was a bit over the top, not to mention downright nasty. Having tasted w/ BipinDesai several times, he is as true a gentleman
as you’ll ever find and so far above the scorn & vitriol Steve’s dumps on them collectively. Not only that…he’s a physicist…which has gotta
count for something.
With blogs posts like this one…the best tactic is to just ignore them and lose a bit more of any shred of respect you may have for the blogger.
Tom

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This

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+2.

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In some twisted way I see it being possible. The mega collectors are the ones that drive up the prices, and divorce wine from it’s true purpose, to be consumed. I could imagine there are people that would be happy about that.

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While I’ve enjoyed much of what Heimhoff has written in the past, I thought the tone of this piece was unnecessarily nasty. Plus, I chuckled at this sentence near the end:

“Honestly, if I were the proprietor of Sassacaia or Screaming Eagle, knowing that my honest efforts were going into something that a bunch of greedheads didn’t even see as art, but merely a commodity like pork bellies, I’d shoot myself.”

Is there anyone here who doesn’t think the owners of Sassacaia and Screaming Eagle know exactly WHO is buying their wines? Or Ch. Lafite or DRC, for that matter? Does anyone see the owners of these luxury brands lining up like lemmings to throw themselves off of cliffs because some very wealthy individuals are buying, collecting, and (sometimes) selling their wines? I think not.

Bruce

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At least indirectly, anyone who likes Burgundy or Bordeaux (and maybe champagne) is at least indirectly a victim of wine fraud.

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Well, I was teacher and I guess I qualify as a “collector” as well. Therefore, I guess he would semi-approve of my purchasing habits. neener Actually, I found the article unnecessarily mean in tone as it seems to be in “vogue” to beat on very wealthy people. I certainly understand that there are many people who engage in overly conspicuous consumption, and MAYBE they deserve derision. However, this article casts waaaay too wide a net and seems quite petty. Just my inflationary .03.

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

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a rising auction tide lifts all boats which is a boon to those with deep cellars whereas it is not a stretch to think wine drinkers with more ordinary income levels have been harmed, too.

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Caveat emptor. For me, the matter is not who might deserve misfortune, but who voluntarily takes risk. Anybody who aggressively takes risk in hopes of personal reward should own both the upside and downside.

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There lies the rub. Only a few gifted authors can conjure the prose necessary to stir others, and none can do this daily. The vast majority with a keyboard would be much better off limiting their writing to subjects that stirred them and not care about further mentions.

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I thought he came off in a very unflattering, very angry and fairly ignorant light. I have run into this attitude about wine collectors a lot though through my career, and I think it is part of the reason it took so long to bring the issue of fraud to the fore. Whiny writing like this speaks to me of jealousy, buying into the class warfare argument for all things perceived “unfair” and sweeping over generalizations that are simply not substantiated in reality.

Its just not accurate to lump all collectors in with the Kapon email/McInerney article characters that are crass show-offs. Those guys are not my clients - the people hire me are willing to deal with the issues, not stick their heads in the sand to further the problem and keep the party going. Nor is it fair to claim that ‘these collectors who got ripped off are responsible for the price rise across the market.’

I just do not understand how anyone thinks that a victim of a crime, that is NOT complicit to the crime, is anything but a victim. Their net worth (which in all cases of my clients is the result of hard work and often creating many jobs!) should not make people exempt from being victims of crime…

Interestingly, he points out that people should be teachers. Did he miss the fact that my client in the article is a teacher: An ethicist & theological professor at a seminary… Not exactly your typical “big swinging” show-off… He drives a jetta, and its not new. He’s the opposite of a big show off, but people who like to cast wide nets are often not interested in pesky facts that will cut through them…

MD

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Well stated Maureen. Thank you for your thoughtful post.

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heimoff being a troll?!? well i never!

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Totally agree.