Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

“Rating the selections would be of little use to most of his readers, he said, because they could hardly find, much less afford, such wines. And the policy against spitting, combined with Rodenstock’s tendency to withhold the most exciting offerings until the end of a tasting, could seriously impair any objective assessment of the wine. ‘He always seemed to serve the great stuff after you were primed pretty good,’ Parker said of the one event he did attend, a 1995 tasting in Munich. ‘People were getting shit-faced.’ Even so, Parker was amazed at some of Rodenstock’s wines.”

Here, Keefe highlights the elite and rarefied subculture Rodenstock operates in. Inaccessibility is built in, and so is performance: Rodenstock ensures that his guests are inebriated, creating a festive atmosphere that precludes any analytical judgment of his offerings. While Keefe’s interlocutor is skeptical of the events, even he admits to getting caught up in the experience. Given what the reader learns later about Rodenstock’s collections, the intentional display takes on a sinister cast: The parties craft one narrative, obscuring reality.

“As we discussed the case, I noticed that Koch seemed anything but aggrieved. He has thrown himself into his battle against Rodenstock and phony wine with the same headlong enthusiasm that he devoted to collecting wine in the first place. ‘I used to brag that I got the Thomas Jefferson wines,’ he said. ‘Now I get to brag that I have the fake Thomas Jefferson wines.’”

Keefe suggests here that in some ways, Rodenstock’s crime was victimless. Koch has “enthusiasm” for his new quest that matches his original interest in the Jefferson bottles. This underlines that he has been compensated in elevated social standing and emotional satisfaction. Koch is so wealthy that status and pride are more important to him than any monetary loss.

“When she moves through Amsterdam, she does so in secret, and sometimes in disguise: she has a collection of fake noses and teeth. Holleeder typically dresses in black, but if she suspects she’s being followed, she may duck into a bathroom and emerge in a wig and a red dress. Occasionally, she has posed as a man.”

In this description of Astrid, Keefe portrays her as more like a spy than a lawyer in hiding. She is equipped for her new life, ready to change clothes or her gender presentation to preserve her safety. Keefe highlights her creativity and dedication, creating excitement and anticipation in the reader. This episode contrasts sharply with the family