Up to half of the alcohol consumed in Russia is thought to be fake or sold under the counter. Illegal producers use forged labels and custom stamps to imitate respected foreign imports. Counterfeit wine is often made from cheap grapes or alcohol produced with other fruits and dyed with food coloring.

In April, 38 Russian alcohol importers published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin in national newspapers urging him to end the "catastrophic situation" [he created by banning the import of Georgian wine in an act of wanton, childish, pathetic Neo-Soviet retaliation aimed at the Georgian infant democracy]. They estimated Russian businesses could lose $700 million as a result of the embargo.

-- The Boston Globe