WASHINGTON: Up to 5% of fine wines are not from the year the label indicates, according to Australian researchers who have carbon dated some top dollar wines.
The team of researchers think “vintage fraud” is widespread, and have come up
WASHINGTON: Up to 5% of fine wines are not from the year the label indicates, according to Australian researchers who have carbon dated some top dollar wines.
The team of researchers think “vintage fraud” is widespread, and have come up with a test that uses radioactive carbon isotopes left in the atmosphere by atomic bomb tests last century and a method used to date prehistoric objects to determine what year a wine comes from – its vintage.
The test works by comparing the amount of carbon-12 and carbon-14 in grapes.
Grapevines accumulate carbon
Both are isotopes of carbon and are captured by the grape plants when they absorb carbon dioxide, the main nutrient used by living plants in their growth cycle.
Carbon-12 is the main isotope in the carbon absorbed by the grapevines, and is very stable, while only tiny amounts of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope, are found in the plant.
The amount of carbon-14 has varied over the years, too, which makes it a useful tool for judging the true age of a wine.
Carbon dating wine
For the study, researchers wanted to see if a wine’s vintage can be dated by look