(Forbes) - Hearing Maureen Downey discuss the prevalence of fake wines around the world makes me want to run to my cellar and closely inspect my bottles. She believes one out of five bottles sold are fake. “If you combine all the types of fake wine from bulk wine that is mis-labeled varietally, to supermarket wines to Miraval rosé to Lafite, 20% is probably conservative,” says Downey. Considered one of the foremost authorities on counterfeit wines and dubbed as the ‘Sherlock Holmes of wine’, Maureen Downey is now taking her message to fine wine cities around the world.

“We are currently seeing a global increase, not a decrease in the production and distribution of counterfeit wine bottles. Organized crime is even involved,” adds Downey. “Counterfeits are not leaving the marketplace, but instead continuing to circulate by sellers that willingly sell fake wines, or sell fake wines unknowingly. I have personally seen this on many occasions.”