August 29,2017 – Xiangyang, China

The Xiangyang police began to investigate when suspicions were aroused by the inconsistency of wine bottles that were appearing in alcohol and tobacco shops throughout the city. The bottles in question were domestic wine – Changyu, which along with the Great Wall brand are often a target of fraudulent fake wine producers. Police did not reveal the suspicious nature of the counterfeit bottles in question as the investigation is continuing.

Xiangyang China Fake Wine Alcohol
Xiangyang, China where the counterfeit wine was seized

The official police statement did not even name the location of the raid, only saying that one named suspect was in custody with the surname Dong. The inventory of the fake wine raid in China was announced as including 6030 bottles of counterfeit wine worth about RMB 300,000 (US$45,180). The wines represented ten domestic brand names including the favorite targets of counterfeiters, the Changyu and Great Wall Brands.

One of the top concerns of authorities when seeking out these fake wine production facilities is the health issues that they pose to the consumers. While the wine that was confiscated in the Xiangyang raid is still undergoing analysis as the investigation progresses, the police noted that dangerous chemicals are often used to produce these wines.

6,000+ Bottles of Counterfeit Wine Seized in Xiangyang, China Click to Tweet

Counterfeit wines in China after being analyzed have been shown to contain water, sugar extracts and straight alcohol. Another favorite ingredient of the counterfeit wine producers in China is watermelon rinds mixed with a concoction of chemicals.

Police are mum on the defect in the bottle that triggered this investigation in Xiangyang. The bottles do not often raise suspicions in the fake wine business, as the counterfeit alcohol bottles have in the past been well made and are good replicas of the brand name bottles.

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