I just finished a splendid book, "The Forger's Spell" by Edward Dolnick, about how a mediocre painter named Han Van Meegeren painted a series of "Vermeers" in the 1930s and 1940s and conned the European art establishment into believing they were real. One of his forgeries was the crown jewel in the collection of the world's greatest art thief, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering. It was a delicious hoax.

When I put the book down and started looking for news stories to pin this column to, I found August was an extraordinary month for hoaxes, fakes, scams, scandals and pranks. Let's start with Wine Spectator.

Thomas Matthews, executive editor of Wine Spectator, is pissed. For starters:

Wine Spectator learned yesterday that, for the first time in the 27-year history of our Restaurant Awards program, a fictitious restaurant has entered its wine list for judging. To orchestrate his publicity-seeking scam, Robin Goldstein created a fictitious restaurant in Milan, Italy, called Osteria L'Intrepido, and then submitted a menu and wine list to Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards as a new entry in 2008. The wine list earned an Award of Excellence, the most basic of our three award levels. Goldstein revealed his elaborate hoax at a meeting in Oregon last week. He is now crowing about the fraud on his own Web site. The story has been picked up in the blogosphere, and now Wine Spectator would like to set forth the actual facts of the matter.

"Facts of the matter?"

Mr. Matthews, you were bamboozled. Hornswoggled. Thimblerigged. Flimflammed. Your awards program is a deeply flawed business model.

Gotcha!

August 2008 is Miscreant Month!
A Personal Digression
Below are hyperlinks to the Web sites of the irate editor of Wine Spectator and that of Robin Goldstein, the perpetrator of what was indignantly described as a "publicity-seeking scam" and a "fraud." You'll love it!

Wine is not my thing. If I find myself in the company of effete, elitist oenophiles, I immediately head to the bar for another Grey Goose on the rocks.

My irreverent friend Mike invited a wine expert to dinner and served a trendy and expensive French Burgundy from a bottle that he opened in the kitchen, so the wine could "breathe." With a flourish, Mike showed the bottle and label and poured a splash into a balloon glass for his friend to sample. The wine expert swirled it, sniffed it and sipped it, and went into orbit over the "bouquet," "nose" and "finish." Throughout dinner, the compliments showered down on Mike for his elegant selection of wine.