Shanghai Police Bust White Wine Counterfeit Ring Amid Rising Demand

In a case that reflects shifting wine preferences in China, authorities in Shanghai have uncovered a rural counterfeit white wine operation — a rare bust that hints at a rising appetite for white wines in the traditionally red wine-dominated market.

According to a statement from the Qingpu District People’s Procuratorate, police raided an illegal factory hidden inside a remote farmhouse in Shanghai’s Qingpu District on January 23. There, they discovered a bottling setup used to produce fake white wines.

Two suspects, identified by their surnames Yin and Yao, were arrested. Police later seized nearly 500 bottles of fake wine from a tech park warehouse in another district. Authorities say the pair had been running the scheme since 2022, with Yin overseeing production and Yao handling online sales. Between December 2022 and the time of their arrest in January 2024, they have produced over 6000 fake bottles, with over 5500 bottles already sold online for about RMB 1.2 million.

Their method? Fill bottles with cheap bulk white wine, slap on counterfeit labels and caps resembling well-known brands — and sell them online at nearly full price. To avoid detection, they even mixed authentic bottles into shipments of fakes, a common trick among counterfeiters.

Prosecutors did not identify the specific brand being counterfeited but described it as “a well-known French brand”. Images released by authorities however show bottles with screw caps bearing the letters “BAY,” resembling earlier label designs from New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay — one of the most popular white wine brands in China and owned by French luxury conglomerate LVMH.

Authorities believe the counterfeit operation targeted multiple brands rather than a single label.

Unlike past cases involving red wine labels such as Penfolds or Château Lafite Rothschild, this case signals a shift in consumer preference — and criminal targeting — toward white wines. While China’s overall wine imports have declined in recent years, white wine imports have shown steady growth.

According to customs data, China imported US$25.84 million worth of bottled still white wine from Germany in 2024, a 34.5% increase from 2020. In contrast, imports from Italy and Spain dropped by 9.1% and 47.6%, respectively, during the same period.

The case was adjudicated on Jan. 24. Both Yin and Yao were sentenced to three years in prison and fined RMB 400,000 (US$55,400) each.