Tag Archives: wine fraud

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Pulling The Plug (Cork) On Wine Fraud

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Wine fraud, Cork, Ireland
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Tax officials in the Irish city of Cork seized almost 25,000 liters of counterfeit wine, the equivalent of 33,000 bottles. The wine is valued at more than $360,000, which also results in a significant loss in alcohol tax revenue. Investigators are looking into whether this is the largest seizure of counterfeit wine in the past five years. The container passed through the terminal in Cork from the Netherlands and was discovered during an official operation that targets illicit alcohol sales.

Resources

  1. Besser, R. (March 23, 2021). “Ireland confiscates illegal wine, but loses $192,000 in alcohol taxes”. Dublin News.
  2. O’Loughlin, C. (March 18, 2021). “Counterfeit wine worth over €300k seized in Cork”. Irish Independent.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

The Automated Nose of a Master of Wine

By Susanne Kuehne
No Comments
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Wine fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Since only 417 Masters of Wine exist globally (and their palates and noses)—and they are amazing in identifying wines by grape varietal or blend, type, vintage and location—it is a good idea to have some automated backup when it comes to wine fraud detection. Aside from other analytical methods, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can be used in the authentication of wine. The new proton measurement 1H NMR Method with easier sample preparation is recommended for the investigation of wine fraud, to detect for example the addition of water or sugar. NMR spectroscopy measures several compounds of a wine at once and therefore is able to detect a fingerprint of a wine, such as the geographic origin or grape varietal.

Resource

  1. Solovyev, P.A., et. al. (January 27, 2021) “NMR spectroscopy in wine authentication: An official control perspective”. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. Wiley Online Library.