LeDomduVin: Counterfeit and Fake Wines - Questions - Qualitative Inspection - Techniques of Recognition and Prevention

Counterfeit and Fake Wines

Questions - Qualitative Inspection -

Techniques of Recognition and Prevention  

It is said that approximately 20% of the wines in the world are fakes and/or counterfeits and/or are made from fraudulent sources.  

As stated by counterfeit wine authenticator and fraudulent wine specialist Maureen Downey (www.winefraud.com) (whom I hope to meet one day to learn more from her wisdom on the subject) and other professionals like Master of Wine Jeannie Cho Lee, whom I had the pleasure to meet many times and even work with for a short while (www.jeanniecholee.com):

Fake wines come in many forms, but generally, they fall into 4 major categories:

1. Original chateau bottle but with a different vintage without refilling

2. Original chateau bottle that has been refilled with an inferior/cheaper version

3. Fake bottle but the original label

4. Fake bottle with fake labels and fake capsules and cork

Throughout my 25 years career as a Sommelier and Wine Buyer for restaurants, retailers, corporate, and private clients, I encountered many of them, more especially during these last 5 years as the Wine Quality Control Director for the Wine Division of a big corporate Hong Kong Group, buying countless amount of cases of the world Top high-end 200 wines, I have learned how and developed processes to detect and recognize fake/counterfeit wines.   

For those of you who might wonder what “Wine Quality Control Director” is, well, my job consists predominantly of checking and counter-checking

1. Provenance: reliability and integrity of the source (people/business) we buy the wines from (Negociants, brokers, merchants, wholesalers, retailers) and the conditions the wines were kept prior to buying them (to ensure the quality and authenticity of the wines - i.e. we prefer to buy wines directly at the winery if possible or from a reliable source that buys the wines directly at the winery) (i.e. no wine that has traveled 10 times around the world or from a retailer where the bottles have been stored standing up under bright lights and/or (even worst) cooking as displayed on the window and with the air conditioner switched off at night...)

2. Prices: Comparative Market Analysis (to make sure that we buy at fair prices) between the prices of
1. Wine-Searcher (Retail Prices),
2. Liv-Ex / Cellar|Watch (Trading Prices - Market Trend),
3. Courtiers/Negociants/Brokers/Merchants (Winery Prices + around 15-25% Margin)
4. Wine Market Journal (Auctions Prices - Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Acker Merrall & Condit, Hart Davis Hart, etc..)
5. Other sources if needed

3. Logistics: cooperate with our internal Cellars & Logistics department to ensure (prior to and during transit until final destination) that
1. Transport/logistics/shipping is done via a reputable or preferably a specialized shipper/freight forwarder
2. The wines have been kept in the most ideal conditions prior to departure and when in transit during the shipping (i.e., Reefer container with additional Temperature/Humidity Control device recording data from departure to the final destination inside, container air quality control, etc…)

4. Quantitative and Qualitative Inspection of the wines prior to buying (if possible) and, more especially, Inspection at goods receiving, which is probably the most important phase, in order to ensure that
1. The order is completed quantitatively upon arrival
1. nothing is missing,
2. the correct amount of pallets, cases, and bottles
2. The order is in good condition upon arrival
1. no broken cases or bottles,
2. no seepage or leakage,
3. pallets well put together,
4. cases clean without mold or bugs or anything else,
5. Temperature/humidity checked at container doors opening  
6. etc...  
3. If anything is wrong with (a.) and/or (b.), follow up with the shipper, freight forwarder, insurer, and/or the original source (negociants/brokers/merchants) is done first to inform them, then deal with the situation, make sure that the insurance covers the particular incident (if the wines have been insured for this kind of problem), then eventually negotiate
1. a discount
2. a reimbursement
3. An exchange
4. a return of the damaged goods
5. others  

Despite these 4 points, my job also extends to supervising and checking wine movements (IN-OUT), inventory, stocktaking, cycle count, random inspection to check the state of the cases and bottles in the warehouses, and most importantly, supervising and monitoring the stock’s and the warehouse’s conditions, climate, environment, security, staff training, and education. I’m also responsible for writing and maintaining the internal SOP (Standard Operation Processes).

But let’s stay focused on the subject of this post, which is the “Qualitative Inspection” of the bottles at arrival to determine the quality and integrity of the wines received via various methods and processes.

Many of these processes have been briefly explained as “Tips” in many articles, yet with this post, I would like to develop them to bring you more in-depth insights on the subject.   

I divided this post into 5 chapters:

1. Questions to ask yourself and to be answered prior to buying an old/rare/expensive bottle
2. Qualitative Inspection Method (What to check?)
3. Techniques of Recognition (How to detect and recognize)
4. Prevention (Disfiguring/defacing the label and breaking the cork)
5. Security (Anti-Fraud Technologies)

1. Questions to ask yourself and to be answered prior to buying an old/rare/expensive bottle

As part of my job consists of checking the background of each bottle we buy for the company, I always have to try to answer the multitude of questions that come prior to and/or when buying an old/rare/expensive bottle of wine, whether being bought via Suppliers, Distributors, Negociants, Brokers, Merchants or Auction Houses.  

In the table below, I put some of the questions I have to ask myself and try to answer each time we receive a new offer and/or want to place a new order. Getting the answers to these questions is not always a fun experience, as, as you can imagine, some suppliers do not necessarily want to reveal too many details about how they acquire the wines, or sometimes they simply do not know… not an easy task.   

LeDomduVin - Questions to be answered prior to buying an old/rare/expensive bottles Table
Subject	Questions prior to buying an expensive bottle
Suppliers, Distributors, Negociants, Brokers, Merchants or Auction Houses	Are they honest, serious, and reliable? Do they buy the wine directly at or from the winery? Or do they buy the wine on the market? From whom? Private collectors? Stores? or other suppliers?       Do they store the wine in good condition? Appropriate storage facility (specific for wines) Ideal climate (controlled temperature, humidity, and air quality level) Environment (stored with only wines and no other products that could damage directly or indirectly the wines) Security (24/7 cameras, guards, motion sensors, RFID gates, etc…) Reliability of services offered in order to secure and keep the wines in the most ideal conditions and at the disposal of the owner    etc... Do they have their own wine storage facility or warehouse? If Yes, do they store only their wines? Or do they share it with other suppliers or clients? If No, is the 3rd party storage company they use reliable and trustworthy?
Provenance	Do the wines come directly from the winery? Or does it transit first via a 3rd party company (warehouse, negociants, etc…) for storage prior to being shipped?   How has it been shipped? (reefer truck or container?) And when? (during winter or summertime?) Which route did it take? Was the temperature level in the reefer truck or container recorded during transit? Are the data available? Can Temperature / Humidity data recording devices like eProvenance or similar be available and/or requestable?    Was the container always plugged in and at an ideal temperature during transit? And more importantly, during the few stops between departure and arrival at the final destination? (change of transportation, during the waiting period for formalities at customs, etc…)
Bottle History	Does it come directly from the winery? What are the bottle conditions? (label, capsule, bottle, cork, sedimentation, aspect of the wine, level, etc…) Was it reconditioned at some point? Was it sent back to the winery for relabelling? Recorking? or even refilling? Or the 3 of them? When and where was the reconditioning done? Was it previously owned? A store? A private collector?   How many times was it sold? To whom? And at what price? How many times did it go around the world? How was the storage condition used by the previous owner? Private cellar? Storage Company? In the garage?

More importantly, after having asked myself all these questions (and more), another aspect of my job is to proceed to do the Qualitative Inspection before buying the wine (if possible) or prior to or at good receiving prior storage.

2. Qualitative Inspection Method

Physical Qualitative Inspection is the most crucial step of wine buying as long as it can be done prior to buying the bottle, which is not always possible. Sometimes the supplier will send pictures of the bottle. However, it can be difficult to judge depending on the quality of the pictures (sharpness, light, position of the bottle in the picture, etc….).   

Therefore, it is important to proceed to the physical qualitative inspection at good receiving prior storage in order to define the quality of the bottle and its genuity, to eventually detect and assess if a bottle is a counterfeit/fake or not.   

In order to thoroughly inspect the quality of a bottle, I follow the inspection points and steps within the following table that I created 5 years ago when I started as a Wine Quality Control Director.

The table is based on my previous 25 years of experience as a Sommelier and Wine Buyer for Restaurants, Retail stores, and Corporate and Private Clients, as well as on my multiple experiences with Auction Houses Inspection practices and jargon described in their catalogs (i.e., Christie’s “Level/ullage Descriptions and Interpretations” or Acker’s “Bottle Description”).

The list in this table is non-exhaustive, and more details could be added, yet it is a very good base of what should or must be checked prior to buying an old and/or rare and/or expensive bottle of wine.   

LeDomduVin - Qualitative Inspection Method Table
Inspection Points	Inspection abbreviations & details
Case Packing	OWC (Original Wooden Case) WC (Wooden Case) OC (Original Carton) CB (Carton Box) SB (Shipping Box) GB (Gift Box) Other:
Case Packing Closing	OWC with previously opened Lid OWC without Lid OWC with original winery straps OWC with metallic straps OWC no straps OWC Branded or Not WC (non-original wooden case) OC Taped OC Stapled OC Taped + Stapled Other:
Case Packing Inside	Wooden Dividers Plastic tray dividers Bottles Straw wrapped Bottles Tissue paper wrapped Styrofoam flakes Styrofoam compartments or dividers Other:
Case Qty	1 Bottle 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, or 24 Bottles Other:
Case Authenticity System	QR Code RFID Label Security Tape (Chateau or Supplier) Original Chateau Strip Other:
Bottle Authenticity System	QR Code (on the back label or at the capsule base) RFID Tag NFC closure Tag technology Holograms Plastic Sealed Cap Engraved ID (on or in the bottle) Micro Text Fluorescent security strip or ink or encryption
Capsule	CC (Corroded Capsule) TC (Torn Capsule) CUC (Cut Capsule) NC (Nicked Capsule) WC (Wrinkled Capsule - or Creases) WXC (Wax Capsule) OW (Original Wax) RW (Re-Waxed) CW (Cracked Wax) RC (Rusted Capsule) Branded Not Branded SOS (Sign of Seepage) SSOS (slight Sign of Seepage) FSOS (Fresh Sign of Seepage - Wet) OSOS (Old Sign Of Seepage - Dry) NOC (No Capsule) Other:
Cork	DC (Depressed Cork) SDC (Slightly Depressed Cork) PC (Protruding Cork) SPC (Slightly protruding Cork) Crumbling Cork Wet/Damp Cork Leaking Defectuous Original Cork (new or Old) Recorked Branded Not Branded Tartrate crystals at the bottom Other: (prefix: S=Slightly L=Lightly H=Heavily)
Level	HF (High Fill) LF (Low Fill) IN (Into Neck) BN (Bottom or Base Neck) TS (Top Shoulder) VHS (Very High Shoulder) HS (High Shoulder) HSMS (High to Mid Shoulder) US (Upper Shoulder) MS (Mid Shoulder) LS (Low Shoulder) Level from the cork's bottom to the wine level depending on the vintage and wine type (3cm, 4cm, 5cm, 6cm, etc,..) Other:
Wine Label	New or Old Look genuine for the vintage Relabelled DTL (Detached label - dry due to storage conditions) LL (Loose Label) DSL (Discolored Label) FL (Faded Label) DRL (Dirty Label) BSL (Bin Soiled Label) TL (Torn Label) NL (Nicked Label) SCL (Scuffed Label) TAL (Tattered Label) WRL (Wrinkled Label) TSL (Tissue-stained label) WL (Writing on the label) IL (Illegible Label) STL (Stained label) WISL (Wine Stained Label - Dry) WASL (Water Stained Label - Dry) DSL (Damp Stained Label - Wet - Water or Wine) GS (Glue Striped) GSL (Glue Stained Label) GM (Glue Marks) Label Paper Genuity Label Printing Genuity Ink Color and Quality Label stuck in angle The label not fitting the old label frame mark NOL (No Label) Other: (prefix: S=Slightly L=Lightly H=Heavily)
Wine	Clear Dark Cloudy or Hazy The correct color for the vintage Brown (for Red - altered/damaged/oxidized) Golden (for dry White - altered/damaged/oxidized) Lots of Sediments No Sediments (bad sign depending on the vintage) Tartaric Precipitation (tartrate crystals or flakes) Other:
Bottle	New or Old Handmade / misshaped / defaults Factory Made Rust marks or stains Dirty Chipped / Dented Brand Engraved on the bottle Label Engraved on the bottle Wine Stains (dry old seepage/leakage) Glue Marks Unusual Punt (bottom of the bottle) Punt too deep or not enough The punt not showing the usual engraved Marks Engraved bottle ID or Code Embedded bottle ID or Code Other:
Source / additional Label (more especially for older vintages prior to the 90s)	US Importer's Label UK or other Importer's Label Auction House Label or Sticker (Christie's, Acker, Sotheby's, etc..) US, UK, or Other Distributor's label French Negociant Label Integrated Label to the main label Separated Label Detached Label Stained Label Illegible Label Other:

3. Techniques of Recognition

Over the last 5-8 years, many detailed articles have been written on the subject of counterfeit wines and the techniques to detect or recognize them, more especially after the arrest of Dr. Conti, alias Rudy Kurniawan (birth name Zhen Wang Huang), probably one of the most talented counterfeiters of Top-tier wines, arrested back in March 2012 and sentenced to 10 years of prison for producing and selling counterfeit wines through auctions.

Rare were these articles showing the labels of these counterfeit and/or fake wines. Therefore, instead of writing another long article about them, I gathered some examples of counterfeit and fake wines and their labels and bottles.    

Yet, before dressing the list of the techniques to detect and/or recognize counterfeit/fake wines, I must say that the best technique is to know your wines as if you do not know them or are not very acquainted with the label and other details variations through time (label and/or capsule differences between vintages, or details changing due to owner decision or change of ownership, etc…), you might get fooled believing you are buying a genuine bottle.  

NB: Some techniques already cited in the Questions and Qualitative Inspection Tables above will not necessarily be repeated or detailed below.  

LeDomduVin - Techniques to detect and/or recognize counterfeit and/or fake wines table
Subject	Details / Pictures
Supplier Provenance Bottle History	Know: Who are you buying your wine from? Where has the wine been before? Where and how has it been stored previously? etc.…   (see more details in the “Questions to be answered prior to buying an old/rare/expensive bottles” table in Chapter 1.)
Price	If the price is too low, it is usually a sign that the bottle might have a problem (bad conditions, damaged label or capsule, old seepage, etc…), but might also indicate a counterfeit or fake wine with dubious origins Therefore, as explained above in my job descriptions, it is important to do a comparative Market Analysis (to make sure that you buy at fair prices) between the prices of long-established reliable websites to estimate the trend: Wine-Searcher (Retail Prices), Liv-Ex / Cellar|Watch (Trading Prices - Market Trend), Courtiers/Negociants/Brokers/Merchants (Winery Prices + around 15-25% Margin) Wine Market Journal (Auctions Prices - Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Acker Merrall & Condit, Hart Davis Hart, etc..) Other sources, if needed Here is an example of a dubiously low price:
Capsule Details	For the capsule, if it appears to be wrinkled or have creases or in some cases, has been cut (unless it was to verify the vintage on the cork), seems too new or too old compared to the vintage, and the label seems to be in a different condition than the label Then, it is probably the case that the capsule was previously removed or tampered with, which might indicate a counterfeit wine.
Label details	For decades, as labels were printed by lithography techniques, letter fonts used on wine labels (and capsules) were usually difficult to reproduce, as they were very distinct to a specific winery name or brand and as they were not necessarily available on the market and most of the time created specifically for a specific wine or winery.   “Ultrawhite” wine label paper that is fluorescent under blue light was only introduced to the market in the late 1950s; therefore, unless the bottle has been relabeled at the winery due to a necessary/requested reconditioning of the bottle, any vintages prior to 1957 with an Ultrawhite label is surely a fake.   Nowadays, most fonts can be found on the Internet, and printing is an easy-going process (Sheet-fed offset, Flexography, UV or water-based, Rotary-offset - (Conventional or waterless), Digital, etc..), so, to counter the problem, wineries use specific ink, shape and/or label paper that is made unique or difficult to reproduce through various processes. Proprietary Paper Tagged and/or Invisible Ink Tamper-proof Capsule Seal Hologram and encrypted micro text or marks NFC / RFID Chips with QR Code Flexographic presses are preferred as they are much more versatile than digital presses and allow for foil stamping, embossing, and applying various finishes that cannot be done on digital presses. Therefore, you should keep a careful eye on the label for Color (i.e, yellowish instead of white, and vice versa) Conditions (too new or too old for the vintage) Letters font, size, and color Details that did not appear on certain vintages have been altered were not mentioned on the label at the time are missing entirely do not exist This picture (courtesy of www.wine-searcher.com) of Rudy Kurniawan’s Petrus labels proves how easy it can be to reproduce the original Fake Petrus Labels And how about this sparkling clean label of Petrus 1961 Fake Petrus Label or not? © LeDomduVin 2017 Small differences in letters, fonts, size, and/or color usually denote a counterfeit or fake wine. Will you be able to spot the counterfeit wine in the image below (posted by The Wine Wankers on Instagram)? Which one is the fake one?  Fake wines may use the same exact font and type or style of the label, but usually spelling mistakes or obviously entirely different label color, name, or other details on the label will definitely indicate them, like on the picture above and more especially this picture of “Pacurs” instead of “Petrus” Parcus from the Pays d'Oc, anyone? Definitely fake... Petrus Imitation Sometimes, fake wines can be surprisingly absurd, like the one below How about a DRC Romanee Conti White produced by the Barons de Rothschild in Languedoc? Anyone..?  Or, for marketing reasons, fake wines are lookalikes of highly expensive wines like the one below (seen in China) Conte Le Prince du Roi Minervois.... What a great imitation of DRC! Isn't it?  Or even this one below which is really messed up… CHATEAU SUPERIEUR DE ROTHSCKILD (LAFITL) Haut-médoc (screenshot of a video found on internet) CHATEAU SUPERIEUR DE ROTHSCKILD (LAFITL) Haut-médoc  Unbelievable, isn’t it? These are only a few examples, but if you pay attention to the details, the market is flooded with these counterfeits and fake wines.
Vintages not produced	Counterfeit wines are usually copies of the top Chateaux and Domaines of Bordeaux and Burgundy in the best vintages like 1900, 1921, 1928, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1978, 1982, 1990, and very speculative vintages like 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 It is highly recommended to verify the source and inspect each bottle thoroughly with an expert eye when buying bottles from these vintages, as many of the rare ones left on the market are probably fake. People in the know say that more bottles of these particular vintages are circulating in China than the amount ever produced at the winery.   Therefore it is crucial to research the wine and vintage first. But counterfeit wines also come in vintages never produced at the winery. It is difficult to generalize to one region in particular, so it has to be taken on a case-by-case scenario depending on a particular vintage for a specific producer. For example, for Yquem, vintages like 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992, and 2012 were not produced, so if you find one on the market, do not buy it as it is fake. For example, for Domaine Ponsot Clos Saint-Denis, older vintages than 1982 are all fakes, as Domaine Ponsot only started to make wine under this appellation in 1982. Also, during certain bad vintages, only small quantities from a handful of producers were produced and are likely unavailable on the current market. For example, 1991 in Bordeaux was a bad vintage due to difficult weather conditions (ail storm, etc.); therefore, most producers made little to no wine that year, and there was barely any available on the market.
Sizes not produced	Counterfeits for old vintages tend to come in sizes not produced at the winery or distributed by the negociants/brokers/merchants at the time. Here are a few examples: Cheval Blanc 1945 in a 5-liter bottle (Jeroboam) cannot exist as this size was introduced in Bordeaux only at the end of the 1970s.
Wrong Appellation or an Appellation not existing at the time	Counterfeit / Fake Wines may also mention the wrong appellation or even an appellation that did not exist at the time. In France, the AOC system was historically created to combat fraud. The concept of “Appellations d'Origine Controlée” was gradually built up at the beginning of the 20th century (law of 1905). The “Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée” was created with the Decree-Law of 1935 to defend the French Wine Market and, more specifically, the name of the regions and, more precisely, the various wines produced in these regions and their respective grape varieties. For example, long ago, specific words like “Chablis”, “Champagne”, and “Burgundy” escaped from that regulations and are or were widely wrongly used in the US. The Americans took these words for granted, standardized them, and basically called their red wines “Burgundies” and their whites “Chablis”. The region of Champagne has won the battle, and US sparkling wines can no longer write “Champagne” on their label. However, Chablis and Burgundy are still widely used in the US and often represent cheap bulk wines.     The Decree-Law of 1935 was applicable to the wines and spirits, and the INAO (Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité) was responsible for their definition, protection, and control. Most of the French Appellations date back to 1936 and after. The AOC regulation was extended to all agricultural and food products in 1990. Any bottle prior to 1935 may not have indicated the appellation on the label, therefore, unless the bottle has been relabeled at the winery due to a necessary/requested reconditioning of the bottle or if it was current practice at the time for the negociant/broker/merchant of that specific wine to mention the name of the region of origin, any vintages prior 1935 mentioning it is surely a fake. Consult the list of the Appellation Controlee of Wikipedia for the date (I could not find the official list on the website of the INAO… maybe an idea for them to add)
Wrong Owner or Producer	Be aware of the owner changes. Counterfeit / Fake wines may state the wrong owner or producer on the label (due to a lack of knowledge or simply counting on the credulity of some uninformed buyers). It is quite hard to know the ownership history of most Chateaux; however, buyers should do some research before buying an old, rare, or expensive bottle of wine. For example, Cos d’Estournel changed hands several times since its classification in 1855 1810 - “Cos d'Estournel” was named by Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel 1852 - Purchased by the English banker Charles Cecil Martyns 1869 - Sold to the Spanish Errazu family 1889 - Sold to the Bordeaux-based Hostein family. 1894 - Louis-Victor Charmolue, who also owned Château Montrose, gained control of Cos d'Estournel 1917 - Sold to Fernand Ginestet 1970 - Became part of Domaines Prats, a combined holding of the Ginestet and Prats families and controlled by Bruno Prats. 1998 - Sold to the Merlaut Family 2000 - Sold to Michel Reybier

4. Prevention - Disfiguring/defacing the labels and destroying the corks

On a monthly basis, after doing the physical stocktaking of the various stocks in our restaurants, warehouses, and cellars, I personally take malicious pleasure in disfiguring all the labels of all the old/rare/expensive bottles of wine used/consumed during the private business diners and in the multiple restaurants owned by the company I work for.

Disfiguring the labels, breaking the bottles, and making sure that the corks are broken and then discarded separately from the bottles, is surely one of the best solutions to prevent these bottles and the corks from ending up in the hands of a reseller on the gray market and eventually a counterfeiter.     

Bottles of Wine prior to being defaced/disfigured - LeDomduVin © 

Bottles of Wine after being defaced/disfigured - LeDomduVin ©

Bottles of Wine after being defaced/disfigured - LeDomduVin ©

5. Security (Anti-Fraud Technologies)

Anti-fraud technologies on wine bottles guarantee 4 crucial points (some sub-points may differ depending on the technology used):

1. Authenticity
1. Assurance of non-reproducibility
2. Assurance of unicity for each bottle
3. Visual authentication by the consumer
4. Automatic control with the reader
2. Integrity
1. Proof of Integrity
2. Prevent eventual opportunist refilling
3. Prevent bottle recycling
3. Traceability
1. Proof of origin
2. Regulation conformity
3. Crisis situation management
4. Unitary tracking  
4. Security
1. Difficult to duplicate due to unique patterns
2. Leave a mark on the capsule (and/or bottle) if/when removed
3. Can’t be removed if embedded in the label (or even bottle)
4. Can’t be seen or detected easily without adequate tools

Nowadays, there are plenty of choices for wineries when it comes to Anti-Fraud Technologies, including:

• Proprietary Paper
• Tagged and/or Invisible Ink
• Tamper-proof Capsule Seal
• Hologram and encrypted micro text or marks
• NFC / RFID Chips with QR Code
• Etc...

Below are some of the most common ones (click on the Brand title to go to the respective website for more Brand details and/or definitions).

1. SigNatures © DNA Protection

Courtesy of SigNatures © DNA Protection

2. DNA-SmartMark™

Courtesy of DNA-SmartMark™

3. Bubble Tag ™ (Prooftag)

Bubble Proof Tag Example - LeDomduVin ©

4. Selinko NFC Tag Technologies

Screenshot of Selinko Website - Courtesy of Selinko NFC Tag Technologies 

5. RFID Embedded Label

RFID Embedded Label for Wine Cases example found on the internet

6. Bitcoin Tracking

Chart Picture courtesy of www.vinfolio.com (blog)

7. Code and/or Bottle number + date engraved in the bottle

Example of Code + Date embedded in the bottle - LeDomduVin ©

It is a work in progress... as I may add and correct certain things in the future. 

I have a few more pictures and details to add, yet I wanted to post these because, from a simple post, it became a much longer project than I thought... 

I hope you've enjoyed reading it so far and that you might have learned a few things on the way to the bottom of this article.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments field below. 

Santé, 

LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noël 

- The original article was written on August 21st, 2017. 

-  Illustration as a header added, and article edited and corrected on April 20th, 2022

#counterfeitwines  #fakewines #fraudulentwines #questionspriorbuyinganoldrareexpensivewine #vin #wine #wineantifraudtechnologies #winefraud #wineinspection #winequalitativeinspection #ledomduvin @ledomduvin

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