Fake vintage wines can now be identified, thanks to atom bombs

Tom Barlow
Updated
New test detects fake vintage of wines
New test detects fake vintage of wines

Researchers from Australia have come up with a new way of confirming or disproving the supposed year in which vintage wine was produced. According to the report, which was presented at the recent American Chemical Society National Meeting, some experts believe that as much as 5% of collectible wine is not of the vintage claimed.

The issue in not just academic. The difference in price between a wine grown in a year that produces a great vintage and one grown during a down year can be hundreds of dollars. For example, wine guru Robert Parker rated the wines of Pomerol, from the Bordeaux region in France, a disaster in 1991, but extraordinary in 1990. The price impact?

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