Like the entertainment industry, wine is a big circle. In this circle, wine collectors are a group that cannot be underestimated, not only because they are extremely fond of wine collections, but also because their reputation and wealth are admired. Among the top ten well-known wine collectors in the world, how many do you know? Let's get to know each other with the Wine Encyclopedia.
1. Hardy Rodenstock
Hardy Roddenstock is a wine collector, connoisseur and businessman from Germany. In the 1980s, he found many old and precious wines, and often held gorgeous wine tastings, and his reputation has been great since then. The most famous of these was the tasting in Munich on 30 August 1998, where 125 château d'Yquem vintages (1784-1991) were on display, and the tasting lasted for seven days.
In 1985, Roddenstock took out a bottle of 1787 Lafite for sale, shocking the wine world. The bottle bears the inscription "THJ," which is said to have been part of the collection of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, but the claim was so controversial that it became the blueprint for the best-selling book The Billionaire's Vinegar.
2. Leslie Rudd
Leslie Rhett is the owner of Rudd winery in the Napa region of the United States, who was deeply influenced by his parents as a teenager and was exposed to and familiar with the wine industry. After college, Leslie smoothly entered the company started by his parents and developed it into the largest wholesale wine and spirits company in Kansas.
In the 1980s, Leslie gradually expanded the company into the food and beverage industry, and the company he ran was successfully listed in 1992. Leslie once collected 10,000 famous wines from the Napa Valley region for its Press restaurant, making it the largest Napa concentration camp in the United States.
3 Michel-Jack Chasseuil
As one of the world's top wine collectors, Michel-Jacques Catheret has a collection of more than 40,000 bottles, including many wines from the world's top wineries, such as Romanée-Conti, Petrus, Dijin, etc., and many rare spirits.
In June, a gang of thieves broke into Michelle's home and imprisoned her for two hours trying to enter her priceless cellar to steal top-notch liquors, but failed. In the end, the thieves only stole 15 boxes of "second-class goods" and other personal belongings from his car.
After the accident, Mr Michelle believed that the wines should not continue to be kept at home, as the collection was part of the "French heritage". Currently, he is seeking investors to build a wine museum. In addition, he wrote 100 vintage treasures: From the World's Finest Wine Cellar, which is popular with wine lovers.
4. Rudy Kurniawan
Indonesia's Rudi Guneawan is arguably the least reputable wine collector in history. This year, Guneawan was jailed for allegedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit wine and obtaining a $3 million loan as collateral.
Federal prosecutors said he forged rare and expensive wine labels, affixed them to old bottles containing a mixture of cheap wines, and used sealing wax and old cork stoppers to make them look like the real thing. In 2006 alone, he sold 12,000 bottles of counterfeit wine.
Guneawan, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, also paid the victims $28.4 million in compensation and had $20 million in property confiscated. It is worth mentioning that he is also the first person in the United States to be imprisoned for selling fake liquor.
5 Alex Ferguson
Former Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson is also a well-known wine collector with a wine collection of thousands. This year, he put out about 5,000 bottles of wine for charity auctions, including six bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in 1999, one case of Pétrus in 2000, Sassicaia in 2005 and Ornellaia in 2006.
Ferguson's interest in wine began on a trip to France, where he says collecting wine is a pastime that allows him to relieve stress and find balance in his busy working life.
6. Bill Koch
Bill Koch is an American billionaire who is also a wine collector and anti-counterfeiter. He was involved in a number of high-profile fake liquor lawsuits, most notably the Rafi affair in Hardy Rodenstock.
Rudy Guneawan was sued by Koch for selling more than 200 bottles of fake wine worth more than $2.1 million to Koch through Acker. Koch asked the auction house for $4.2 million in damages, and Archie auction house also implemented compensation this year, demanding an out-of-court settlement.
7 Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, another wine collector. He is a playwright whose love of wine stems from his aunt's preference for Italian wine. At the age of 9, he began drinking Barolo, and 15-year-old Weber considered himself a wine collector. He still remembers the first time he drank a 1961 chateau Palmer wine, he was only 16 years old.
In 2011, Weber auctioned off part of his wine collection worth 3.5 million euros at an auction house in China, including 8,837 bottles of classic French wines, including 17,460 euros at the 1990 Romani Conti auction.
8. Robert Rosania
As the world's largest collector of Champagne, Roshania began her collecting journey 10 years ago. In 2012, he sold nearly 1,000 bottles of champagne worth 640,000 euros, including Bollinger, Taittinger, Salon, Dom Pérignon and other very rare champagnes, the most notable of which were Moët & Chandon in 1911 and Cristal in 1964 and 1969.
9. Gene Mulvihill
With a collection of 135,000 bottles, Jean is arguably the collector with the largest wine collection in the world. These wines were carefully selected by Jean, the oldest dating back to 1863, and the most famous are Chateau Latour, Cheval Blanc and Haut Brion.
10 Thomas Jefferson
The third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, is known as America's first wine connoisseur. He was a good wine taster, and while studying law, he met a lawyer friend who loved European wine, and began to be exposed to wine. In 1785, he came to France and spent five years touring bordeaux, Burgundy and other famous appellations, gaining an in-depth understanding of French wine.
Prior to becoming president, Jefferson served as a wine consultant and purchaser for the President's Cellars. During his presidency, he spent about $16,500 on good wine to entertain VIPs, which shows how much he loves wine. (Translated by Zhu Yan/Wine Encyclopedia, text:TheDrinksBusiness)
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