Wine YouTuber WineKing Criticizes Fine Dining Restaurant Mosu Seoul Over Alleged Wine Swap Incident

Wine YouTuber WineKing has claimed that the alleged wine swap incident at Chef Ahn Sung-jae's fine dining restaurant, Mosu Seoul, was not a mistake.

On the 3rd, WineKing released a video titled 'There Are More Victims' on his YouTube channel, criticizing Mosu.

WineKing stated, "In my opinion, the biggest victim of the Mosu wine incident is not the guest on the second floor who raised the issue, but the guest on the first floor who quietly ordered the same wine by the bottle." He added, "The scariest part is that the first-floor guest might still be unaware that they are a victim."

WineKing also criticized a scene from Ahn Sung-jae's YouTube video. In the video, Ahn asks the sommelier, "Didn't a YouTuber visit Mosu? People seem very interested, what's it about?" The sommelier replied, "They wanted dessert wine. I don't list many dessert wines at Mosu; it's my style. That's why we couldn't receive a Michelin 3-star."

The YouTuber mentioned in Ahn Sung-jae's video is WineKing. WineKing commented, "The most important criterion for this head sommelier is receiving and maintaining Michelin stars. This saddens me because if you love wine or food, customer satisfaction should be the standard."

WineKing highlighted a point from a netizen's comment regarding the 'Mosu wine swap controversy.' The netizen noted, "There's an unmentioned part. When asked why they served a 2005 vintage instead of a 2000 vintage, the sommelier answered that a bottle order came in for the first floor, so there was no bottle available. If a bottle order came in for the first floor, the person who ordered it would drink the whole bottle, so why was it needed?" They also speculated, "For some reason, the empty 2000 vintage bottle on the first floor seemed necessary. It appears they brought the empty bottle from the first floor for the photo."

WineKing stated, "A bottle order means a guest purchased a whole bottle. The wine ordered by the guest should be served exclusively to them on that floor." He continued, "The issue is that the bottle was taken to the first floor. The wine shown to the guest was the first-floor guest's wine ordered by the bottle. However, it was brought to the guest on the second floor who received the wrong wine. The wine ordered by the first-floor guest was served in the glass of the guest who made the claim."

WineKing concluded, "I don't think this was a mistake." He added, "Whether it's a 2000 or 2005 vintage, they are similar wines, and most guests wouldn't notice, nor would they likely make a claim. This act constitutes wine fraud."

Recently, a post surfaced online claiming that wine was swapped at Chef Ahn Sung-jae's restaurant. The author, identified as A, alleged, "The wine served during the meal was different from what was supposed to be provided." They also pointed out that the wrongly served wine was approximately 100,000 won cheaper and criticized the sommelier's inadequate response. Mosu Seoul issued an official statement apologizing and addressing the situation.

Chef Ahn Sung-jae gained recognition through the 2024 Netflix show 'Black and White Chef.' He operates the Michelin 2-star fine dining restaurant 'Mosu Seoul.'

Kim Ji-won, TenAsia Reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr