TIER 2 SECTOR COVERAGE

Wine and Spirits

Volume XXIII of the Sector Coverage Series

For beverage-alcohol producer general counsel, wholesaler risk teams, TTB-adjacent compliance officers, and independent investigators retained by producers, distributors, retailers, and their insurers.

TIER Tier 2 · Professional Reference
PRICE $227 / monthly
COVERAGE 78 investigative playbooks across 22 categories
DELIVERY Secure dispatch within 24–36 hrs

Professional Reference Material

These playbooks are professional reference material intended for licensed investigators. They are not legal advice. Investigators are responsible for compliance with the laws of their jurisdiction and the specific requirements of their clients and cases.

PROPRIETARY FRAMEWORK

The TALON Difference

Every playbook in this platform is built against TALON, the proprietary defensive-operations doctrine developed inside The Investigator's Desk over years of federal investigative practice.

01

Actor-model analysis

02

Reverse trace

03

Artifact mapping

04

evidence econstruction

“Subscribers receive the playbook; the proprietary model that produced it stays inside the platform.”

TALON Doctrine Secured

Wine and Spirits, At a Glance

78

Investigative Playbooks

22

Categories

$227

Per Month

within 24-36h

Dispatch

FULL PLAYBOOK LISTING

The 78 Wine and Spirits Playbooks

The full catalog is listed below by category. Each entry is a standalone playbook covering the case type named.

  • 01 Counterfeit and Provenance

    • Counterfeit rare wine and spirits investigation

    • Refill fraud investigation

    • Rare bottle authentication investigation

    • Provenance investigation for high-value bottles

  • 02 Cask, Barrel, and Vintage Investment Fraud

    • Cask and barrel investment fraud investigation

    • Cask ownership verification investigation

    • Wine fund and cellar investment fraud investigation

  • 03 Diversion and Gray Market

    • Product diversion investigation

    • Allocation diversion investigation

  • 04 Three-Tier, Tied House, and Antitrust

    • Tied house violation investigation

    • Beer distributor antitrust and franchise-law investigation

    • Wine and spirits pricing coordination investigation

  • 05 Distributor, Importer, Bottling, and Labeling

    • Distributor kickback investigation

    • Ghost SKU and depletion fraud investigation

    • Duty and excise tax evasion internal investigation

    • Bottling line and labeling error fraud investigation

    • Cross-border alcohol smuggling investigation

  • 06 Vineyard and Grape

    • Grape theft investigation

    • H-2A vineyard worker and labor contractor investigation

    • Grape appellation and AVA fraud investigation

  • 07 Craft Distilling, Sommelier, and Industry Misconduct

    • Craft distiller/brewer misrepresentation investigation

    • Alcohol-brand endorsement and influencer misconduct investigation

    • Sommelier and industry-professional misconduct investigation

    • Wine and spirits award competition fraud investigation

    • Craft beer brewery misconduct investigation

    • Tasting room and hospitality-side misconduct investigation

  • 08 Corporate Internal Fraud (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Cellar and warehouse theft investigation

    • Sample abuse investigation

    • Wine/spirits company employee embezzlement investigation

    • Wine/spirits expense and T&E fraud investigation

    • Wine/spirits ghost employee and payroll fraud investigation

    • Wine/spirits vendor kickback investigation

    • Wine/spirits fictitious vendor and duplicate invoicing investigation

  • 09 IP, Trade Secrets, and Insider Threat (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Trade dress and bottle mould theft investigation

    • Recipe, formula, mash bill, and yeast strain theft investigation

    • Wine/spirits departing employee data exfiltration investigation

    • Wine/spirits non-compete enforcement investigation

    • Wine/spirits insider threat program investigation

  • 10 Consumer, DtC, and Auction

    • Direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping and wine club fraud investigation

    • Wine and spirits auction house misconduct investigation

  • 11 Money Laundering and Sanctions

    • Sanctioned entity distribution investigation

    • Cash purchase and structured payment investigation at retail

  • 12 Corporate Compliance and Ethics (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Gift, meals, and entertainment (GME) violations investigation

    • TTB and state ABC internal compliance investigation

  • 13 Insurance and Environmental Compliance (Wine/Spirits-Owner Side Only)

    • Wildfire subrogation for vineyards and wineries investigation

    • Winery and distillery environmental compliance investigation

    • Vineyard pesticide and herbicide compliance investigation

  • 14 HR and Workplace (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Wine/spirits sexual harassment and workplace misconduct investigation

    • Wine/spirits workplace violence and threat assessments

    • Wine/spirits discrimination and EEOC investigation

    • Wine/spirits substance abuse and impairment investigation

    • Wine/spirits FMLA, ADA, and disability fraud investigation

    • Wine/spirits union organizing countermeasures investigation

    • Wine/spirits contractor misclassification defense investigation

  • 15 M&A, PE, and Reputational Diligence

    • Winery, distillery, brewery, and cidery acquisition diligence investigation

    • Distributor and importer acquisition diligence investigation

  • 16 Executive Protection and Collector Security (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Collector cellar and storage security assessments

    • Wine/spirits executive protection investigation

    • Wine/spirits family protective intelligence investigation

  • 17 Litigation Support (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Wine/spirits product liability and dram shop defense investigation

    • Wine/spirits expert witness sourcing

    • Bottle authentication and document forensic investigation

    • Wine/spirits class action defense fact investigation

    • Wine/spirits contract dispute investigation

    • Wine/spirits insurance recovery litigation support investigation

    • Wine/spirits wrongful death defense investigation

  • 18 Cybersecurity (Wine/Spirits-Specific)

    • Wine/spirits cybersecurity incident response investigation

    • Wine/spirits ransomware response investigation

    • Wine/spirits BEC recovery investigation

    • Winery/distillery OT and control system attack investigation

  • 19 FCPA and International (Wine/Spirits)

    • Wine/spirits FCPA investigation

    • International wine/spirits counterparty diligence investigation

  • 20 Public Company Defense (Activist, ADA)

    • Wine/spirits activist investor and short-seller defense investigation

    • Wine/spirits ADA and accessibility investigation

  • 21 Cargo

    • Wine/spirits cargo theft investigation

  • 22 Emerging (Wine/Spirits)

    • AI-generated fake wine and counterfeit spirits investigation

    • NFT and blockchain provenance fraud investigation

    • Deepfake sommelier and industry-influencer investigation

ADJACENT COVERAGE

Where Wine and Spirits Meets the Rest of the Catalog

Wine and Spirits investigations regularly cross into adjacent sectors. The volumes listed below carry the framework and playbooks that most often surface alongside a wine and spirits matter. Tier 2 subscribers have access to every volume; the cross-references identify where to look first.

Volume X · Hospitality

On-premise beverage-fraud investigations and restaurant-and-bar liquor-cost matters.

Volume XI · Transportation and Logistics

Cellar-to-market transport theft, refrigerated-load spoilage, and importer-freight matters.

Volume XV · Insurance

Cellar-and-warehouse fire and flood claims, transit-loss investigations, and product-liability claims.

Volume XXII · Fine Art

Rare-wine and collectible-spirit provenance, along with auction-house authentication matters.

Volume XXVIII · Agriculture

Vineyard and grape-supply fraud, along with agricultural inputs for distilling.

Volume XXIX · Fashion

Luxury-spirit brand-adjacent counterfeit matters and ultra-premium-product diligence.

SUBSCRIBER ACCESS AND DELIVERY

What Ships & How

Two Documents Per Case Request

Operational Playbook

The doctrinal chapter: case overview, business and practice framework, investigative blueprint with step cards covering purpose, actions, output, restrictions, and gates, evidence considerations, interview strategy, report considerations, common mistakes, a tabletop exercise with worked answers, closing take, and the case-specific Client Communication Pack of email templates for every touchpoint from proposal through invoicing.

TALON Brief

The actor model for the case typology, the artifact map, and the reverse-trace sequence. This is the doctrine layer that tells the investigator not just what to do, but why those steps in that order, grounded in how actors in that typology actually operate.

Universal Forms

25 universal forms are provided separately as a one-time subscriber download.

Delivery Framework

Case requests → secure email

Dispatch → within 24–36 hours

Maximum → 3 playbooks / rolling 7 days

Monthly reports → scheduled delivery

Quarterly report → scheduled delivery

On-Demand Reports → separate purchase