Wine expert YouTuber ‘Wine King’ has launched a scathing critique regarding the wine controversy at the Michelin 2-star restaurant ‘Mosu Seoul’.
On May 3, Wine King uploaded a video titled “There Will Be More Victims,” claiming that the situation is not just a simple mistake but constitutes “Wine Fraud,” a type of crime frequently seen overseas.
He pointed out that the primary victim isn’t actually the customer who raised the issue. “The biggest victim isn’t the guest on the second floor who filed the complaint, but the customer on the first floor who ordered the same wine by the bottle,” he stated, adding that the latter might not even realize they were affected.
He questioned the situation, asking, “Does this make sense?” while explaining that the wine purchased by the first-floor customer was served into the glass of a wine pairing customer on the second floor. The wine in question is reportedly worth approximately 790,000 KRW.
He further argued that this cannot be viewed as a simple error, explaining that the labels for the 2000 and 2005 vintages are completely different and easily distinguishable for anyone with a bit of interest.
Regarding the sommelier’s comment about letting a guest taste the 2000 vintage, he noted that this could be interpreted as an intention to provide wine from another table’s bottle since that specific vintage was not separately available.
Wine King also highlighted structural issues within the fine dining industry. He argued that the practice of managing wine in areas invisible to customers and having staff fill the glasses allows such controversies to happen, criticizing the act of staff arbitrarily tasting or sharing a customer’s purchased wine as a “violation of ownership.”
The responsibility of owner chef Ahn Sung-jae was also brought up. Wine King pointed out an inconsistency, noting that while he was told during a previous visit that only two types of dessert wines were available, the same sommelier claimed in another video that they “always keep more than 10 types.”
He emphasized, “Ahn Sung-jae is an outstanding chef, but there are shortcomings in management,” adding that the owner of a Michelin restaurant must strictly manage the wine list.
Previously, on the 23rd of last month, Mosu Seoul apologized for the lack of guidance and poor response during the wine pairing process. The controversy erupted when a customer claimed they ordered a 2000 vintage wine worth about 800,000 KRW but was served a 2005 vintage, which is roughly 100,000 KRW cheaper.
