How Are Wine Makers Stopping Fraud?

In our efforts to ensure you avoid counterfeit wine, this week the Ideal Wine Company asks how are wine makers stopping fraud?

Counterfeit Wine is the Bane of Any True Wine Enthusiast

As a provider of fine wines from around the world at reasonable prices, Ideal Wine Company understands the risk that counterfeit vintages pose to the true wine enthusiast. That feeling when you crack open a bottle and realise you've been sold a fake is disheartening to say the least.

That is why when we came across an article in the Telegraph this week, detailing how wine makers are fighting fraud, we knew you needed to know about it. It could really help you ensure that you avoid counterfeit bottles.

Introducing Banknote-Style Holographic Labels

According to the publication, vineyards in South Africa are introducing a revolutionary way to tackle counterfeiting. They are adding holographic labels to their bottles, in order to distinguish them as fine wines. The holographic labels work in a similar way to those on banknotes.

Specifically, Cape Town’s famous Winemakers Guild have trialed the method by placing an order for 26,000 silver labels which have a vintage year, 2014, stamped in a hologram, which have then been placed on bottles that are due to go up for auction in October.

Of the measure, the Guild’s general manager, Kate Jonker said that “we wanted to add a little more authenticity,” and that “we just wanted to assure our customers.”

An Extra Security Measure

Once they had placed the order for the holograms bands, they then went on to add extra secret security measures, through a company called Rotolabel.

Accountant executive at Rotolabel, Niel Du Toit said of the measure that “it’s not going to be so easy for anyone just to copy it, it definitely gives them a security base to work from,” adding that “this is definitely the first for wine.” 

Du Toit elaborated by saying: “the foil is very expensive, it’s not a normal thing that the industry is doing, but I think it’s very good. It’s definitely something for the future.”

A Guide to Avoiding Counterfeit Wine

At the Ideal Wine Company, we hail this measure, and believe it will help customers avoid counterfeit wine. However, we also understand that it’s unlikely to go global any time soon, which is why if you want to avoid counterfeit bottles in the here and now, you’re in luck, as we’ve compiled a guide to help you avoid counterfeit wine.

Can Nanoscience Improve the Quality of Wine?

Developments in nanoscience have apparently shown researchers a way to improve the quality of wine, Ideal Wine Company learned this week. Is that really possible?

How to Arrive at the Right Balance of Flavours

Through supplying fine wines at reasonable prices, Ideal Wine Company has learned how much work goes into creating a luxury vintage. Growers often need to control the number of processes involved in developing wine extensively, to arrive at the right balance of flavours.

This is often a tricky thing to do, especially, when trying to develop the appropriate astringency, which is the drying sensation that is supposed to accompany a sip of wine. Well, measuring astringency just became a whole lot easier thanks to the development of a device by nanoscience specialists.

New Device Capable of Measuring Astringency

According to Phys.org, researchers at Aarhus University’s Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO) have created a sensor capable of measuring the astringency of wine in your mouth as you take a sip.

Basically, the sensor in a way is a mini-mouth that is able to take the salivary proteins in your mouth, and use them to figure the nature of the sensation that occurs when you take in a sip of wine. The researchers are then able to figure out how the proteins alter the saliva when they interact with the wine, and can thus use these observations to describe the effect that particular wine is having on the person drinking it.

“If it Doesn’t Work, People Won’t Drink Wine.”

The potential of such a sensor is enormous. It basically gives wine producers the capability to control astringency as they go, something they’ve never been able to do before, to ensure they are able to create a quality bottle of wine.

Joana Guerreiro, a PhD student who contributed to a scientific article on the sensor, explained why this is important. She said that “when you produce wine, you know that the finished product should have a distinct taste with a certain level of astringency. If it doesn't work, people won't drink the wine."

Quality Control Benefits Consumers
And that is why this nanoscience sensor really does have the potential to improve wine. Astringency is vital to quality, and by being able to measure it, producers can make sure that said quality remains consistent, which will in turn benefit consumers. 

A Sip of Wine to Quench Your Thirst?

Astoundingly, Ideal Wine Company has discovered that the world’s longest marathon chose to offer wine to its participants recently, rather than water.

The Beneficial Properties of Wine

Ideal Wine Company is a company that exists to make sure you are able to buy a bottle of fine wine at a price you can actually afford. As such, we believe in the benefits of wine.

Wine – by certain studies – has been shown to hold characteristics that promote goodhealth i.e. anti-oxidants. However, even we never believed that it would ever be a good idea to offer wine to people running in a marathon.

What is the Le Marathon du Medoc?

According to the BBC, organisers of the Le Marathon du Medoc offered runners the chance to feast from a veritable banquet as they were running. Not only did the banquet include some of the country’s most beloved wines, but other French delicacies from ice cream to oysters.

It’s important to understand how bizarre this truly is. The Le Marathon du Medoc is billed as the world’s longest marathon because it is a 26 mile circuit. However, participants are given a pretty generous six-and-a-half hours to complete the marathon.

A Day of Celebrations

Yet what an outsider wouldn’t know, is that this has never been a straight forward run. It’s more a festival, as not only do the runners get a chance to sample luxury wines, but they are tasked to complete the circuit in carnival themed outfits.

Furthermore, it’s not like they are forced to wash down a cold glass of Bordeaux as they whizz by. The marathon is specifically long, because it allows for pit stops at various chateaus to indulge in French delicacies.

This is why French Wine is So Famous

This is why we truly love the French here at the Ideal Wine Company. Yes, to us British this seems like a bizarre and somewhat unhealthy tradition. However wine is so endemic to the French character that to them, it makes sense to have a glass whilst you’re running a marathon. That way of thinking, is why the French are the most famous wine making people in the world. 

The French Don’t Know Much about Wine

This week the Ideal Wine Company wants to share an astounding piece of information we came across recently – the French don’t know much about wine!

French Wine is the Best in the World

We supply you with the finest luxury vintages from around the world. As such, Ideal Wine Company offers a range of French wines. That is because France quite simply makes some of the best wine in the world.

So you would think that the French are a nation of wine buffs, which is why we were shocked recently, when we came across an article in the Guardian that claimed in actual fact that, the average Frenchman knows little about wine.

43% of French Wine Drinkers Know Nothing about Wine

That’s right. According to the news source, a poll recently carried out by wine magazine Terre de Vins (Wine Country) sought to find out how much French wine drinkers know about the country’s most famous export. 

As it turns out, 71% of respondents admitted to not being knowledgeable when it comes to wine, and out of that number, 43% actually said they know nothing at all. Meanwhile, only 3% would categorise themselves as well versed in the subject, whilst 26% said that they “knew enough.”

A Social Divide

The company which carried out the poll, Viavoice, commented on its results. They suggested that the results showed interesting - if obvious conclusions - about social class differences. They alluded to the fact that professionals - businesspeople, doctors etc. are far more likely to know about wine than your average factory worker or artisan.

A spokesperson for the company said that: "this proves that learning about wine is seen as still very elitist in French society and also a feeling – real or supposed – that those households with limited purchasing power cannot afford quality wines."

Ideal Wine Company Exists to Provide Everyone with a Chance to Buy Luxury Wine
This is exactly why the Ideal Wine Company exists; to provide everyone with a chance to buy a bottle of luxury wine, for a reasonable price. Check out our selection today if you want to learn more. 

Ideal Wine Company Guide: How to Spot a Counterfeit Wine

Avoid falling prey to a counterfeit wine scammer and losing your investment, with the Ideal Wine Company guide to spotting a counterfeit wine.

Luxury Wine Scammers They Leave You with Nothing But Swill

At the Ideal Wine Company we have dedicated ourselves to providing you with some of the highest quality luxury wines the global market has to offer for a price that won’t leave you reeling.

As such, we’ve seen this happen countless times. Not everyone comes to a reputable luxury wine provider such as the Ideal Wine Company, and those that don’t, leave themselves unprotected. From here, it’s easy for a luxury wine scammer to lure in an unsuspecting victim with promises of a high quality vintage and leave them with nothing but swill.

Ideal Wine Company’s Top Five Tips for Spotting Counterfeit Wine

You don’t have to take this. Protect your investment and stop a scammer in their tracks with these top five tips for spotting a counterfeit wine:

1. Beware Bordeaux: For some reason scammers love to pass off their low quality swill as Bordeaux, so if it’s a Bordeaux, keep an extra eye out.
2. Presentation is everything: Scammers don’t have the same level of craftsmanship available to them as luxury wine producers, and often, this’ll lead to poor package presentation. If the label’s crooked, for example, you could be dealing with a counterfeit.
3. Glue Residue: An extension of the last tip, if there’s a glue residue around the label, that’s further evidence of poor craftsmanship and is another indicator that you are dealing with a counterfeit.
4. Compare and Contrast: Use the internet, it’s your best friend. Pull up a picture of the luxury wine you’re looking to buy, and compare with the bottle you’re being presented with. You’ll soon see whether you’re being scammed or not. Look at the foil over the cork and contrast as a good baseline.
5. Don’t Trust the Aged: Generally, the older a wine is, the more likely it is to be counterfeit because it’s rarer and harder to find. A good rule of thumb is; if the wine was made before 1980 and priced too low to be true, it probably is.

Don’t fall prey to a counterfeit wine scammer. Use these tips from the Ideal Wine Company to stop them in the tracks and get the most out of your luxury wine investment.

King Richard III, Luxury Wine Enthusiast?

Fascinatingly, Ideal Wine Company has learned that tests have revealed that 15th Century English King Richard III had a penchant for luxury wine. 

What Happened When Scientists Tested the Body of Richard III? 

Recently, CNN reported that scientists at the British Geological Survey carried out tests on the recently recovered skeleton of Richard III. Thought lost until discovered in a Leicester parking lot back in 2012, scientists took to testing the skeleton to measure the body for isotopes.  

What they discovered was astonishing – although probably not that surprising. The final Plantagenet monarch had a penchant for the finer things in life. This included a taste for the sumptuously rich foods of the day, such as swan, heron and even peacock, as well as most notably, luxury wine.  

A Meal Fit for a King 

Angela Lamb, an isotope specialist who led the study commented on its finding to CNN. Lamb said that "obviously, Richard was a nobleman beforehand, and so his diet would be reasonably rich already," and further said that "once he became king we would expect him to be wining and dining more, banqueting more. Food was a real mark of status in the medieval period.” 

Lamb went on to elaborate, saying that: "we have the menu from his coronation banquet and it was very elaborate -- lots of wildfowl, including real 'delicacies' such as peacock and swan, and fish -- carp, pike and so on, which were cultivated in special fishponds." 

The History of Luxury Wine 

This is just absolutely fascinating isn’t it? Looking at that coronation menu, and knowing the monarch had a taste for fine vintages, we’re dying to know which types of wine the Plantagenet king set off his dishes with. Obviously, it wouldn’t be anything we would be likely to recognise in the modern day, but such information could tell us so much about the history of luxury wine.  

Lamb indeed went on to talk a little about the King’s wine habit. The specialist said that given the discrepancy in oxygen isotopes in Richard’s body, it was clear he was drinking something other than water and that "we needed something that would tie in with the luxury food he would have been eating." Lamb went on to conclude that "back then wine was very much the preserve of the upper classes -- it was imported, expensive and only the very wealthy could afford it." 

For Ideal Wine Company, This News is Fascinating 

For wine enthusiasts like Ideal Wine Company, this news is fascinating. Although not unexpected – kings tended to drink the best of the best when it came to wine – it certainly gets us wondering! 

Unique Chemical ‘Fingerprints’ in Fine Wine?

This week the Ideal Wine Company explores the idea that wine holds unique chemical ‘footprint’s’ that can be used to determine its origin and quality.

It can be Hard to Determine Class from Swill

As a provider of first rate luxury vintages at reasonable prices, Ideal Wine Company understands the difficulty that comes with identifying bottles of true quality. Often, it’s hard to know when you are buying class or swill.

That means that it can sometimes be hard to ensure that first rate bottles end up in your collection. However, that could be a thing of the past, as last week, the BBC reported that scientists have found that fine wine holds chemical footprints, These can be used to determine its quality, as well as it’s region of origin.

How Was the Study Carried Out?

According to the news service, researchers from the University of California Davis reported the findings at the recent meeting of the American Chemical Society. Their aim was to fingerprint the terroir in luxury vintages. This is the climate, geology and geography that a certain place infuses into a bottle of wine.

To determine their findings, the team took wines from the same Malbec grape variety from a range of regions in California and Argentina. The idea was to examine compounds in wine, which can only be determined through smell. They then employed the skills of a team of trained experts to evaluate the vintages based on 20 sensory characteristics. These characteristics included texture, taste and aroma.

What Did the Study Find?

What they ultimately discovered was that despite the fact that the two Malbecs were produced by the same wine-maker, the vintages from Argentina and California had unique molecular signatures and flavours. Yet, the team also reported that the delicate aroma attached to each fine vintage was shown to quickly erode when subjected poor storing at the post bottling stage.

This comes at a time when wine enthusiasts across the world are calling out for a more objective test to determine quality in luxury wine. Previous methods have been somewhat subjective; this has led to the development of less reliable processes designed to determine quality in fine vintages.

Quality throughout the Fine Wine Trade
This finding could be monumental. Here at Ideal Wine Company, we’ve often seen how people struggle to determine the true value of a luxury vintage. This test could streamline the process, to ensure quality throughout the fine wine trade.