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In the old Hans Christian Anderson tale of the Emperor\u2019s New Clothes, the emperor was the kind of clothes horse who\u2019d make Anna Wintour look like a frump in a burlap sack. This guy was all about the fashion, and the more extravagant the better. So one day, a couple of con men came blazin\u2019 into town, pretending to be the best tailors in the biz. They swept into the emperor\u2019s castle, bragging about the spectacular wardrobe they could make for him\u2026for the right price. And it got even better than that. These tailors had magic powers. They could create a fabric that could only be seen by those who are good enough, smart enough, and powerful enough. Well of course our boy and his ego couldn\u2019t resist, and he set the two \u201ctailors\u201d to work, creating the kind of threads that would blow the roof off of any room he strutted into. Of course the tailors weren\u2019t tailors at all, and they had no magic powers. They just wanted the cash\u2026and the cache. So when the day of the big reveal came along, they finessed it. Rolled in a fancy garment rack full of empty hangers, and presented them as the finest wardrobe in the land. When the emperor saw the empty rack, of course, his first thought was\u2026oh no\u2026oh God\u2026I can\u2019t see it! I\u2019m not good enough! Presumably everybody else was thinking the same thing\u2014oh no, why can\u2019t I see it? There was a moment of panicky silence. And then, the emperor gasped the fakest gasp he\u2019d ever gasped, and said \u201cI LOVE IT!\u201d And later that day, the whole kingdom was treated to the sight of their ruler, catwalking down the main street in the buff. And everybody clapped, and everybody had something to say about how beautiful the clothes were. Better that than admit ya got got. This is one of those stories that never goes stale. We see it every day, that essential human urge to save face, even at great personal expense. Today we\u2019ll tell you about a fraudster who knew this all too well, and decided to try his hand at faking out one of the wealthiest, most discerning crowds in the world: the wine snobs.

Sources:
2016 Documentary "Sour Grapes" by Jerry Rothwell, Reuben Atlas
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Vintage Wine Fraud"
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/11/the-great-wine-fraud-a-vintage-swindle

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