Separating fake from fine wine

Judging whether a wine is worthless or worth thousands might sound like a pretty good gig. Better still, Maureen Downey says she created the job for herself, and is paid hundreds of dollars an hour to separate fine from fake wine. There is one drawback. “Unfortunately, tasting is not part of what I do,” sighs Downey. “We can’t verify via the contents of the bottle. For one thing, if you were to open a bottle, you destroy it, so authenticating at that point is kind of useless. I’m often the thirstiest person in the wine industry.”