SIP 'N' SEIZE
Town & Country US|December 2023 - January 2024
How did the wine heist become the crime du jour?
GABE ULLA
SIP 'N' SEIZE

Minutes after midnight on June 30, 2023, a man wearing a black hoodie and a red baseball cap exited a white pickup truck that had just pulled into the parking lot of Lincoln Fine Wines in Venice, California. He climbed to the top of the building, cut a five-by-three-foot hole in the roof, and rappelled directly into the retailer’s rare wines room. Avoiding alarm sensors but not video cameras, which recorded his movements, he then proceeded to spend hours methodically pillaging the store’s most coveted stock—Petrus, Latour, an enormous 15-liter nebuchadnezzar of Billecart-Salmon—pausing occasionally to lift his phone to his ear. By the time he was gone with his accomplices, the rear of the truck was filled with $600,000 worth of stolen wine.

A few months earlier, in March, authorities in Spain brought to trial a former Mexican beauty pageant contestant two years after she had checked into a hotel in Cáceres with a fake Swiss passport and plans to meet a friend for dinner at the property’s Michelin-starred restaurant. After the 14-course meal, the pair received a private tour of the cellar. Hours later, the authorities allege, the two checked out of the hotel with $1.7 million worth of stolen wine, including a bottle of 1806 Château d’Yquem that has yet to be recovered. The couple, who pleaded not guilty, were convicted and sentenced to four years and ordered to pay $800,000 to the insurance company.

Welcome to an increasingly popular illicit corner of the wine world, where enterprising individuals can make the kind of killing once reserved for jewel or art thieves. The aforementioned incidents represent only a fraction of the ongoing investigations, controversies, and criminal and civil cases underway at every level of the business, around the globe, in cases of theft, forgery, and fraud.

Esta historia es de la edición December 2023 - January 2024 de Town & Country US.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición December 2023 - January 2024 de Town & Country US.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE TOWN & COUNTRY USVer todo
Come On A My Palazzo - Marcantonio Brandolini grew up within these historic walls, skateboarding through his family's 15th-century Gothic home. Now, from ground floor offices that are more Venice Beach than Doge's Palace, he leads an artisanal incubator that may just save the lagoon from oblivion.
Town & Country US

Come On A My Palazzo - Marcantonio Brandolini grew up within these historic walls, skateboarding through his family's 15th-century Gothic home. Now, from ground floor offices that are more Venice Beach than Doge's Palace, he leads an artisanal incubator that may just save the lagoon from oblivion.

A few years ago, when I was writing a novel about reckless young men in Venice, I stumbled upon a photo online that conjured the spirit of my characters. In it, a scruffy-haired twentysomething sits precariously on the edge of a palazzo rooftop, staring out over the city as if he owns the place. Later I discovered that the young man in that photo wasn’t a random backpacker but Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, descendant of one of Venice’s most noble and socially well-connected families. The rooftop on which he’s perched is his family’s majestic 15th-century Gothic palazzo on the Grand Canal. By most definitions, the handsome young man in the photo really does own the place.

time-read
7 minutos  |
October 2024
That Seat Is Saved -  Some couples have a new, must on their invite list, and it isn't who you might expect.
Town & Country US

That Seat Is Saved - Some couples have a new, must on their invite list, and it isn't who you might expect.

When Marielle Mathe Brookner arrived at FedEx to pick up her wedding invitations, the bride-to-be wasn’t thrilled with their color. “I’m devastated,” she recalls thinking. “I really need to get these out as soon as possible.”Brookner successfully persuaded the retailer to print new copies, but she didn’t let her original invites go to waste. Instead she decided to invite some atypical guests to her November nuptials: Disney, Ben & Jerry’s, and In-NOut Burger, among other brands. She knew Mickey and Minnie Mouse were unlikely to take up room on her seating chart; the 28-year-old realtor “did it mostly for fun.”

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 2024
Can a Car Have Sprezzatura - The new Maserati convertibles are made for our times.
Town & Country US

Can a Car Have Sprezzatura - The new Maserati convertibles are made for our times.

Sure, we can wax poetic on all of the impressive virtues of the new Maserati GranCabrio Folgore, the first all electric convertible in its class. A canvas top that opens in 14 seconds. Those sumptuous interiors, made from the same quality recycled fabric Prada uses. The range of gorgeous colors (choose from 27, or make it bespoke like an OG). The 818 horsepower that propels it from 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds, which also makes it the fastest electric convertible in the world right now (fitting, since folgore is Italian for lightning). And that signature Maserati engine roar, specially engineered— and delivered through a state-of-the-art sound system—to mimic the vroom of the Folgore’s gas-powered V6 sister, the Trofeo.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 2024
Best Friends Forever...and Ever, and Ever, and Ever - From celebs to finance bros, everyone suddenly seems to think an NAD+ drip is the secret to eternal youth. Could they be right?
Town & Country US

Best Friends Forever...and Ever, and Ever, and Ever - From celebs to finance bros, everyone suddenly seems to think an NAD+ drip is the secret to eternal youth. Could they be right?

In the last couple of years there has been a steady drip (ahem) of content—studies, message board buzz, Huberman Lab podcast episodes—feeding the NAD+ frenzy. “Ever since Jennifer Aniston talked about it being the reason she’s never felt better, it’s been an ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ moment,” says one woman who can best be described as Los Angeles royalty. “But the drips take hours. Snore. I can’t decide if it’s worth it.”

time-read
5 minutos  |
October 2024
The Etiquette of Dissent - What happens if your candidate loses the election? Fortunately, examples of civilized-and productiveways to handle it abound.
Town & Country US

The Etiquette of Dissent - What happens if your candidate loses the election? Fortunately, examples of civilized-and productiveways to handle it abound.

The etiquette of living in dissent thereafter, especially if it goes on for a long time, is another matter. In theory, we are supposed to learn how to be good losers as kids. Athletic leagues give out sportsmanship awards, and institutions like the Scouts try to coach their members toward grace in defeat. Both aim to teach us how to live on the outs, perhaps drawing upon the British public school attitude of let’s-all-pull-together-for-the-empire. (The out-of-power party in the UK is even known as “His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition.”) In the American ideal, we metaphorically line up and shake hands after the softball game, and then square off again on another day. In practice, what some people do is accuse the other team of cheating and try to get the umpire fired.

time-read
6 minutos  |
October 2024
So What's New?
Town & Country US

So What's New?

How a 166-year-old jewelry house keeps the world guessing.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 2024
You're Right Here
Town & Country US

You're Right Here

A new collection reminds us that life is a journey worth celebrating, Ideally with diamonds and gold.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
For Your Eyes Only
Town & Country US

For Your Eyes Only

A small wedding has many charms. Here are 27 of them.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 2024
People We Like
Town & Country US

People We Like

A few concessions are required (sorry, Uncle Bob!), but a small wedding may be the best way to get exactly what you want.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
Our Gift to You
Town & Country US

Our Gift to You

Sunblock and snacks? Nice try. The latest flex is for couples to shower their guests with highly curated, and very pricey, welcome bags.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October 2024