Researchers develop a method to identify fortified wines and avoid fraud

A research team from the University of Seville, in the south of Spainand the National University of La Pampa, of Argentinahas validated a simple and economical analysis method that accurately differentiates the designation of origin and the type of aging of different wines generous.

The strategy, which could be implemented as a quick and useful tool for regulatory councils and producers in their guarantee controls, is financed by the Department of University, Research and Innovation of the Government of Andalusia and the project ‘Aromatic and spectroscopic characterization in combination with chemometric techniques for the authentication of Andalusian fortified wines with protected designation of origin’ from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Experts confirm its usefulness for the differentiation of wines with 104 samples from the protected designations of origin Jerez, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Montilla-Moriles and Condado de Huelva, and the results of the analyzes, published by the magazine Microchemical Journal, confirm its effectiveness and its implementation in the near future by any control laboratory, the Ministry reported in a statement.

The system used characterizes the fortified wines through a direct and rapid analysis of the sample, so that a unique fingerprint is obtained for each type after processing the data, which could be compared with a device that generates a unique DNI for each product, with which they are not only perfectly identified, but also provides guarantees against impersonation or falsification.

The researchers aim to make the authentication of these fortified wines as simple as including the sample to be analyzed in a piece of equipment, preferably portable, and pressing a button.

“The tool generates the spectral fingerprint, that is, a unique digital mark for each type. Once introduced into a classification model, the team would directly indicate what it is.”explained the researcher at the University of Seville Rocío Ríos, author of the article.

In this way, both producers and regulatory boards could have a new useful tool for their routine control analyses, while establishing profiles that identify each class of wine for chemical cataloging and avoiding fraud or impersonation.

Researchers are working on the development of new equipment that combines analytics with data processing, allowing any user to carry out the entire procedure in a simpler way, from analyzing the sample to obtaining the final result, according to the notice.

Furthermore, for its industrial implementation, the experts intend to expand the number of wines and further develop data processing to simplify the process and promote its expansion in the wineries.

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