When you buy a high-value wine, most of what you can check is on the outside: the label, the bottle, the paperwork. All of that can be copied. What is much harder to imitate is the composition of the liquid inside, its chemical fingerprint.
Imagine an importer orders a shipment of super-premium champagne. The bottles look right, the labels look right and the paperwork is in order. But how do they independently verify that the product they receive is actually the product they ordered?
In the laboratory, we can test a bottle’s claims against what is actually in the glass. For producers and buyers, that is more than protection against fraud. It is independent evidence of whether a wine is typical for what the label describes, and a way to protect the trust a label has already earned.
Why ask for proof?
These questions do not reach us every week. But when they do, they usually involve high-value products, international trade and a buyer who wants evidence, not just someone’s word for it.
These questions usually fall into two categories:
- Export. An importer asks for an export certificate each shipment. The request usually comes from the exporter, on behalf of their customer abroad.
- Doubts about quality. A buyer wants to know whether a batch matches what was promised.
The same questions come up with whisky and other spirits, where provenance, brand and product identity make up a large part of the value.
How do you test whether a wine is typical?
There is no single test that simply returns a “real” or “fake” result. What we can assess is typicity: whether the composition of a wine fits what is expected for the product it is described as. Wine is a complex product, and the right approach depends on what needs to be established. That is why we build a tailored testing plan for each question.
We start with a selection of parameters from our regular wine analyses, such as alcohol, sugars and acidity. We then use gas chromatography to separate and measure individual compounds in the product, which gives a much more detailed picture of its composition. Finally, we compare the results with available reference data for the product.
Together, these results form a chemical fingerprint of the liquid itself, not just the bottle, the label or the paperwork.
From laboratory results to a certificate
For an importer, laboratory results are useful. Official, independent documentation can be even more important.
Meron is recognised as an approved laboratory under EU agricultural Regulation No. 1308/2013. We are also accredited according to NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17025:2018 by the Dutch Accreditation Council, under registration number L302, for the activities specified in our scope. This enables us to undertake official analyses and issue certificates related to wine products intended for export.
On such a certificate, we confirm, limited to the parameters analysed, that the product is the product identified in the shipment, is of “good, honest and commercial quality”, and complies with European legislation.
For the importer, it is independent evidence behind what they are buying. For the exporter, it is documentation to support what they are selling.
In practice
A shipment of champagne to Japan
One of our clients exports super-premium champagne to Japan. With every order, the Japanese importer asks for an export certificate. This does not mean they suspect fraud. The certificate gives independent confirmation that the shipment matches the order. Bottles from the same batch generally carry the same lot number, so when the bottles in an order share the same lot number, one representative sample can be enough. So far, every sample we have tested for this client has met the required criteria.
A question about what’s really in the bottle?
There is no standard authenticity test, because there is no standard authenticity question. You may need documentation for an export shipment. You may have doubts about the identity or quality of a product. Or a customer may simply be asking you for extra proof.
Send us your question, and we’ll propose an analysis plan that fits it. Because when the question is what is really in the bottle, the answer should come from the bottle itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is wine fraud?
Wine fraud is selling a wine as something it is not, for example with a false origin, brand, vintage or quality claim. Labels, bottles and paperwork can be copied. The composition of the liquid inside is much harder to imitate, which is why a laboratory analysis can show whether a wine is typical of what the label says.
Can a laboratory prove a wine is authentic?
Not as such. What a laboratory can assess is typicity: whether the composition of a wine fits what is expected for the product it is described as. At Meron, we combine parameters from our regular wine analyses, such as alcohol, sugars and acidity, with gas chromatography, and compare the results with reference data for the product. There is no single test that returns a “real” or “fake” result, so we build a testing plan for each question.
What is an export certificate for wine?
It is official, independent documentation that an importer can ask for with a shipment. Meron is an approved laboratory under EU Regulation No. 1308/2013 and accredited to NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17025:2018 by the Dutch Accreditation Council (registration number L302) for the activities specified in our scope. Limited to the parameters analysed, the certificate confirms that the product is the product identified in the shipment, is of good, honest and commercial quality, and complies with European legislation.
Does this also work for whisky and spirits?
Yes. The same questions come up with whisky and other spirits, where provenance, brand and product identity make up a large part of the value. The approach is the same: first decide exactly what needs to be proven, then choose the analyses that can answer that question.
Reviewed by Mark Ekkerman, head of laboratories