Catawiki, wine counterfeits increase by 28%: in Italy the most affected region is Tuscany

The French regions of Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne, the Spanish regions of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, California’s Napa Valley in the United States, and even Tuscany. In addition to the prestige of their wines, they all share an unfortunate distinction related to their appellations: they are the geographical areas most affected by bottle counterfeiting, according to Catawiki, the marketplace for unique and collectible items. For its part, it frequently encounters counterfeit products which, when intercepted by experts, cannot be auctioned, and for the platform, one of the sectors that has seen the greatest growth in this regard is precisely that of wines, which in 2024 saw a 28% increase in the number of blocked lots, according to data released on “World Anti-Counterfeiting Day” which falls today, June 12.
"The evolution of counterfeiting in the wine world closely mirrors that of the fine wines market. Today, forgeries are mostly found among wines with prices above 200 euros because they are easier to pass off and less subject to suspicion”, explains Catawiki wine expert Mattia Garon, adding that “this is not a constant wave” and that “counterfeits follow market trends: they increase when a region or producer suddenly becomes popular”. And unlike a watch or a purse, wine is a perishable good, and once opened, the bottle leaves no trace and admits no second verification, so it is essential to notice the fake before uncorking.
The clues are always the same, but according to Catawiki, three were the most common signs in 2024: fake labels, reused bottles, and tampered corks. The first is one of the most visible signs, but also one of the most sophisticated. Counterfeit labels may look authentic at first glance, but they often feature incorrect details or imperfect graphics. The most common errors, according to the platform, include incorrect positioning of alcohol content information, inconsistent fonts, and logos that are misaligned with the original layout.
Another “classic” technique, still widely used today, is bottle reuse: counterfeiters fill empty authentic bottles with a completely different wine, then seal and repackage them. Sometimes, experts explain, the anomaly concerns the shape of the bottle itself: for example, a glass mold from the 1950s used to simulate a bottle from the 1980s. Other times, it is the weight, markings, or color of the glass that raises doubts: the reuse of bottles is particularly common in vintage wines, where traceability is more complex. But even when the bottle appears intact and authentic, the wine inside may not be.
So even the cap can tell another story: some counterfeiters remove the original caps, refill the bottle, and then insert a new cap with fake information.
According to Catawiki data, the most frequently counterfeited wines in 2024 share three key characteristics: high value, limited production, and strong collectability. It is no coincidence that the most counterfeited wines come from regions of the world (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Tuscany, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Napa Valley) whose appellations meet these characteristics and also certain price points: wines that average above €200 are increasingly targeted due to their greater accessibility and profit margin.