Authenticity testing of fine wines

The authenticity of our food and drink is an ever-present issue, with more and more fraudulent products entering the supply chain every day. In February 2016 Italian authorities seized bottles, labels and boxes relating to counterfeit samples of a well-known luxury brand of champagne which had an estimated market value of €1.8m. Analytical chemistry may help testing for authenticity and geographic origin of wine.

Research by: Timm Hettich, Götz Schlotterbeck

University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Chemistry and Bioanalytics, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland