Rudy Kurniawan (born Zhen Wang Huang; 10 October 1976) is an Indonesian convicted criminal and perpetrator of wine fraud.
[2] He was found to be offering more magnums of the limited edition 1947 Château Lafleur than had been produced, and his Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru was labelled with a fictitious vintage.
[6][9] At the same time, he began hosting tastings of rare wines with other collectors; he showed so much affinity for the ultraluxury Burgundy producer, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, at these events that he became known as "Dr.
[6] In April 2007, Kurniawan consigned several magnums of 1982 Château Le Pin at Christie's in Los Angeles; the bottles were featured on the auction catalog's cover.
[13] In 2008, Kurniawan consigned several bottles allegedly made by Domaine Ponsot from the Clos Saint-Denis Grand cru appellation, with vintages ranging from 1945 through 1971.
Bill Koch filed a lawsuit against him in 2009, alleging Kurniawan knowingly sold fake bottles to him and other collectors, both at auction and privately.
[2][16][17] He also defaulted on a $10 million loan from the auction house Acker, Merrall & Condit, where he sold much of his wine, including the withdrawn Ponsot sale.
[4] Later investigations indicated that Kurniawan was purchasing inexpensive, though old, Burgundy wines and re-labeling them with prestigious producer names and vintages.
[11][22] Domaine Georges Roumier did not produce wine prior to 1924, according to lead prosecutor Jason Hernandez, ergo the 1923 bottles must be fakes.
[25][26][27] Kurniawan, Federal Bureau of Prisons #62470-112, was incarcerated at CI Reeves I & II Correctional Facility in Pecos, Texas.
[34] The 2016 documentary film Sour Grapes directed by Jerry Rothwell and Reuben Atlas[35] retells the events in Kurniawan's wine fraud.