I am standing on the 26th floor of a skyscraper in Tel Aviv with views over the city and out to the Mediterranean, clutching a bottle of red wine from a Portuguese vineyard that doesn’t exist.
The wine certainly looks convincing. The bottle has an artful label with an etching of vines stretching across a hillside, a farmhouse in the distance. The vineyard also apparently bottles a sauvignon blanc and an aged ruby port, and reviews of its wine have featured on an established website, Vivino. ‘Another great wine from Alcantara,’ says one. ‘A soft fresh and fruity blend that pairs nicely with dessert. I was happily surprised with the tartness of the cranberries that was nicely balanced with the sweetness of the plum.’
