Ep 364: The High-End World of Rare Wines with Dave Parker of Benchmark Wines

<p>In this episode I welcome David Parker, CEO and Founder of <a href="http://www.benchmarkwine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Benchmark Wine Group ,</a> which is the largest online seller of fine and rare wines for wine retailers, restaurants and collectors worldwide. Benchmark does auction, retail, wholesale and import. </p> <p><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/dave_parker_final2.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></p> <p>Dave is an unusual guest for us in that he specializes in a part of the market that most of us, as normal wine people, know nothing about -- fine and rare (and VERY expensive) wine! He is a great guest and openly shares everything from how <a href= "http://www.benchmarkwine.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Benchmark</a> procures wine to how they ensure the wines are authentic (provenance) to the important things to know about collectible wine, should you decide to dip into this world.</p> <p> </p> <p>As a bonus, David tells us about the <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Kurniawan" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Rudy Kurniawan</a> scandal (he knew Rudy!) and he shares great information about how the market works to keep that kind of fraud out of rare wine. </p> <p> </p> <p>As an important program note: I do need to thank <a href= "http://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">the Patrons</a> for encouraging me to have Dave on as a guest and for providing some great questions for this interview. If you are interested in becoming <a href= "http://www.Patreon.com/winefornormalpeople" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">a Patron</a> to have opportunities like this and to take part in other exclusive conversations, you can join for as little as US$20 per year!</p> <p>Here are the show notes:</p> <ul> <li>Dave tells us how <a href="http://www.benchmarkwine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Benchmark</a> sources wine, how the wine is evaluated and what makes it a