Food

Often in columns leading up to the celebration of our nation's independence, I intone the name of Thomas Jefferson. Our nation's third president and framer of the Declaration of Independence would likely be surprised we are talking about him not from a historical or political prospective, but rather from the prospective of his abiding love of wine and his lifelong pursuit of the beverage.

Jefferson's wine purchases are well-documented. Jefferson wrote astounding numbers of letters in pursuit of securing large quantities of the best wines available and seeing that these wines made their way to the Jefferson White House and to Monticello. What would not surprise Mr. Jefferson is the attention counterfeit bottles of wine allegedly having belonged to him are now garnering in the media. "Aha," he would likely say, "I have had concerns about adulterated and counterfeit wines since 1784."

Jefferson writes from Paris on Feb. 22, 1788, to the president of La Fite (now known as La Fite-Rothchild), "The excellent wines called La Fite are produced by your people. If you have some of the 1784 vintage, and if you could accommodate me with 250 bottles, I would be infinitely grateful. If it would be possible to have them bottled at your place, this would guarantee that the wine is natural and well drawn."

Jefferson mistrusted wine middlemen and shippers believing they helped themselves to quantities of wine shipped in bulk and replaced wine skimmed from containers with cheaper wine or water. Jefferson tried to avoid wine merchants and deal directly with the châteaux.

While Jefferson was skeptical of wine merchants and brokers, modern wine collectors have been more trusting, until recently that is. In 1985, a cache of more than a dozen bottles of wine allegedly dating from 1784 to 1787 were uncovered in a walled cellar of a Parisian house.

These bottles with "Th. J." engraved on them ended up in the hands of a German wine collector and dealer, Hardy Rodenstock. In 1988, Rodenstock started unloading these bottles by offering them for sale through top wine firms like Zachy's, The Chicago Wine Company and various auction companies. Four of the Jefferson bottles ended up in the hands of Florida billionaire collector William Koch (pronounced coke).

In 2005, when Koch loaned the bottles to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for exhibition, he was asked for documentation proving their provenance. Koch went back to his sources for documentation of the wine's authenticity but learned there was none. He hired his own team of chemists and scientists to examine the bottles. While some studies were inconclusive regarding the age of the contents, the "Th. J." engraving on the bottles was determined to have come from a modern-day dental drill.

Koch sued Rodenstock, but the suit was dismissed by a New York court for lack of jurisdiction. Koch has amended and re-filed the suit. Whether the New York court will accept jurisdiction of the amended litigation is yet to be determined.

Koch and his scientific team, which apparently had its eyes opened with the Jefferson bottles, have unearthed numerous fakes and frauds in his current collection. These fakes and frauds were purchased through some of the top dealers and auction houses in this country and abroad. Koch is charging these entities with selling fraudulent bottles of wine. Though not alleging necessarily these entities deliberately set out to defraud, Koch believes they were negligent in authenticating the province of bottles sold.

If you are thinking of buying a wine from the 1700s to celebrate the fourth, you may want to secure the advice of a scientist and archeologist, but if you're ready to buy something more current, then try one of these red, white or blue wines for your Independence Day celebration.

Trefethen 2003 Cabernet Oak Knoll District. $23.99 at the Wine Cellar on Quintard. From one of Napa's longest-operating family-owned wineries. The Trefethens have always produced their wines from estate-grown fruit. This is a classic California red wine with flavors of dark berry and spice. Balanced and lush.

Bouchaine 2005 Napa Carneros Chardonnay Estate Vineyard. $23.50 at Tyson Art and Frame in Golden Springs. This white wine strikes a happy medium between big bold buttery New World chardonnay and the more austere Old World chards. Great as an aperitif or with a summer meal.

White Oak Vineyards Blueberry Wine. $13.50 at the winery at 1484 Dry Hollow Road at the Iron City Intersection of Highway 9. An off dry blueberry wine that should pair nicely with blueberry cobbler and chocolate brownies.