How to distinguish fake wine from real? How to distinguish good wine from a fake powder.

In good films, waiters in a restaurant bring expensive wine, which the protagonist first examines intently in the light, then takes one sip, and only then nods satisfactorily to the waiter ... In this case, we are not talking about fake wine, so they check it taste qualities, endurance and strength. But the task of most of our compatriots is to choose from the variety of bottles in the wine shop one that will not lead to a hard morning or, worse, poisoning. And, of course, not very pleasant to buy favorite wine, and then to be surprised to find that it has a completely different taste. Here are some ways to tell real wine from fake wine.

Label

If you are buying a deliberately expensive and well-known brand of wine, pay attention to the label. There should be no peeled edges, blurry inscriptions. The label is the "clothes" for the bottle, by which it is greeted. And manufacturers of expensive drinks do not save on it. If you looked at the light through the bottle and saw glue stains, the wine is either cheap or fake. Thus, only children in labor lessons and falsifiers stick something.

Each bottle of wine (even if it is not the most expensive) should contain the following information: the country of origin, the name and address of the producer, the proportion of alcohol and sugar, the presence of other impurities, such as flavors, and the date of manufacture (bottling). All of this information must be printed on the label, not inked. Located helpful information on the label on the back of the bottle, it is also called a back label.

Bottle

Many manufacturers prudently invent various ways to keep your good name. One of these is the application of signs on the bottle. For example, some manufacturers make the neck of the bottle narrow, or the bottom concave, and also apply some kind of distinctive sign. But this tip for spotting a fake wine only works if you know exactly what precautions the original maker has taken.

In addition, it is worth paying attention to the container in which the wine is poured. Wine is well preserved only in glass bottles. Clay gift wrapping or cheap cardboard boxes will not do the job.

Cork

Alas, no one will allow you to uncork a bottle of drink in a store in order to determine its quality by cork. But when you get home, you can easily do it. So, the length of the cork does not mean that the drink is of poor quality. Just long corks say that the wine has good exposure, and short ones usually clog young wines. In no case should wine be corked with a plastic cork, because wine breathes through a cork, this cannot be done through plastic. If you met plastic stopper– wine is fake or low quality.

In healthy, good wine, the cork smells like berries, but never mold and dampness. The quality of the cork may vary, but the cork should not crumble and fall into the contents of the bottle. For expensive wine, the cork is made from whole piece wood, but of poor quality or cheap wine clogged with blockage from waste wood. Most expensive varieties even on the cork there is an imprint with the year of manufacture and the vineyard.

Manufacturers quality wine they try to protect themselves in some other way, for example, a hologram, or small-character markings. These methods save, if only because they are quite expensive and sometimes it is simply not profitable to fake them.

Findings site

On a bottle of real wine, the label should be of high quality, without blurry letters, fuzzy words and traces of glue.
The label of a quality wine always contains the following information: country of origin, manufacturing plant, composition, content of alcohol, sugar, other components and date of manufacture.
The date of manufacture must be printed on the label and not applied in any other way.
Real wines are sold in glass containers.
Some bottles have distinctive features: concavity, logos, shape.
A good wine cork cannot be plastic.
For aged wine, the cork should be long, elastic and not crumble.
On some expensive bottles of wine you can find holograms and small symbols.

According to Robert Parker, one of the world's most influential wine critics and the developer of the 100-point quality rating system, wines with a score of 50 to 59 are considered unacceptable. Only it is unlikely that fake drinks reach even this lower limit. Below are some tips to help you recognize fake wine and stay healthy...

Types of fake wine

Powder: grape must evaporated to dryness, diluted with water and alcohol with the addition of flavorings. Artificial: surprisingly believable combination of water, yeast, sugar, citric acid, alcohol, flavors and preservatives, which has nothing to do with grapes.

Gallized: low-quality wort with the addition of water and sugar to the required density. Petiotized: wine drink based on pulp (pressed grapes). Sheelized: low-quality wine with the addition of glycerin to improve palatability. Chaptalized: sour wort, "softened" with alkaline additives.

With preservatives: wine made according to the "accelerated" technology, with salicylic acid in its composition to prevent souring. Mixture: a blend of low-quality and good wine to give the drink a more acceptable smell and taste. Tinted: a mixture of wines with the addition of dyes (not always natural) to achieve the desired color. Substitution: low-quality wine with the substitution of labels, corks, excises. Camouflage: pouring low-quality wine into part of a batch of a well-known brand.

What to look out for

In the shop:

Obviously, but still to clarify: wines in boxes are of poor quality. Normal wine is never stored in this form. The sugar content in wine should be as follows: in dry wines - up to 4 g / l; in semi-dry - up to 18 g / l; in semi-sweet - up to 45 g / l, in sweet - at least 45 g / l. If there is more sugar and the label does not say that the wine is fortified, then it was added artificially. If salicylic acid is present in the wine, then the wine was made in violation of technology. But the scary ingredient E220 (sulfur dioxide) will be present in any wine, as it is a natural by-product of fermentation.

The date of manufacture must be stamped separately from the main information on the label. All fonts must be clear, without typos, blurs, printing defects. The inscription on the label must match the inscription on the cork. oak barrels) wine powder does not happen. As well as artificial dry. This is because it is cheaper and easier to make a sweet concentrate, roughly similar to the taste of wine. If you are a connoisseur of a certain brand of wine, then you should be alerted by the change original bottle(asymmetrical, branded) to regular.

At home:

By adding a pinch of ordinary baking soda natural wine will change its color due to the reaction with grape starch. Synthetic will remain the same. When a few drops of glycerin are added to natural wine, it will sink to the bottom and not change its color. If the glycerin changes color to yellow or red, then in front of you powdered wine.When shaking the bottle in good drink foam will gather in the center and subside quickly enough. In a low-quality product, the foam will collect at the edges and will slowly settle. Drop wine on a regular piece of chalk. If the stain brightens after drying, the wine is natural. If the stain has changed color, it contains dyes.

Your "chemical" experiments will be a spectacle for the guests who brought the wine. But, believe me, it's better to laugh healthy at the eccentricity of a friend than to curse the ill-fated cookie, which has poisoned everyone.

According to Robert Parker, one of the world's most influential wine critics and the developer of the 100-point quality rating system, wines with a score of 50 to 59 are considered unacceptable. This is if we consider that 50 points are initially given to any wine. Only it is unlikely that fake drinks reach even this lower limit.

Types of fake wine

Powder: grape must evaporated to dryness, diluted with water and alcohol with the addition of flavorings.
Artificial: An amazingly believable combination of water, yeast, sugar, citric acid, alcohol, flavors and preservatives that has nothing to do with grapes.

Gallized: A low quality wort with water and sugar added to the required gravity.
Petiotized: wine drink based on pulp (pressed grapes)
Scheelised: A low quality wine with added glycerin to improve palatability.
Chaptalized: an acidic wort "softened" with alkaline additives

With preservatives: wine made according to the "accelerated" technology, with salicylic acid in its composition to prevent souring.
Mixture: A blend of low-quality and good wine to give the drink a more acceptable smell and taste.
Tinted: a mixture of wines with the addition of dyes (not always natural) to achieve the desired color.
Substitution: low-quality wine with substitution of labels, corks, excises.
Camouflage: pouring low-quality wine into part of a batch of a well-known brand.

What to look out for

In the shop:

Obviously, but still to clarify: wines in boxes are of poor quality. Normal wine is never stored in this form.
The sugar content in wine should be as follows: in dry wines - up to 4 g/l; in semi-dry - up to 18 g / l; in semi-sweet - up to 45 g / l, in sweet - at least 45 g / l. If there is more sugar and the label does not say that the wine is fortified, then it was added artificially.
If salicylic acid is present in the composition of the wine, then the wine is made in violation of the technology. But the scary ingredient E220 (sulfur dioxide) will be present in any wine, as it is a natural by-product of fermentation.

The date of manufacture must be stamped separately from the main information on the label. All fonts must be clear, without typos, blurs, printing defects. The inscription on the label must match the inscription on the cork.
Vintage (and therefore infused in oak barrels) wine powder does not exist. As well as artificial dry. This is because it is cheaper and easier to make a sweet concentrate that is roughly similar to the taste of wine.
If you are a connoisseur of a certain brand of wine, then you should be wary of changing the original bottle (asymmetrical, branded) to a regular one.

At home:

When you add a pinch of regular baking soda, natural wine will change its color due to the reaction with grape starch. Synthetic will remain the same.
When adding a few drops of glycerin to natural wine, it will sink to the bottom and not change its color. If the glycerin changes color to yellow or red, then you have a powdered wine.
When shaking the bottle in a good drink, the foam will gather in the center and fall off fairly quickly. In a low-quality product, the foam will collect at the edges and will slowly settle.
Drop wine on a regular piece of chalk. If the stain brightens after drying, the wine is natural. If the stain has changed color, it contains dyes.

Even the high price of wine does not guarantee quality: it can be fake. How not to get poisoned by "cheese" after a party with this drink, we decided to tell.

Powdered and artificial wine are not the same

To begin with, let's figure out what they can sell under the guise of wine. Powder is a wine drink prepared as follows: grape must is evaporated to a dry residue and diluted with water, alcohol and flavorings. Artificial "wine" is a mixture of alcohol, water, flavorings, sugar and preservatives. So not all wine that smells like grapes.

Wine from the package

It is of poor quality - this is the rule. Good wine cannot be kept in a box.

sugar in wine

Sugar comes out of wine natural fermentation. As a rule, it contains at least 45 g/l in sweet drinks, no more than 45 g/l in semi-sweet drinks, up to 18 g/l in semi-dry drinks, and no more than 4 g/l in dry drinks. If there is more sugar, and the label does not indicate what it is fortified wine, then the conclusion is obvious: sugar was added artificially.

Ingredients

Oddly enough, but the "terrible" ingredient E220, sulfur dioxide, is found in any wine, as it is a natural product of fermentation. You shouldn't be afraid of him. But salicylic acid is present only in those drinks whose manufacturing technology has been violated.

Date of manufacture and inscription

The date of manufacture is stamped on the label separately from the main information and duplicated on the cork. Check if the data must match. Another point is the absence of typos, blurs and other font defects.

bottle shape

As a rule, the wine of each brand is produced in bottles of the same shape. If you notice that a branded or non-standard bottle has become common, then this is probably a fake.

Baking soda

Soda will help to recognize the quality of wine. Add it to a glass and take a look. natural drink will change color due to the reaction with grape starch, but the artificial one will remain just as beautiful and unchanged.

You can also test wine with glycerin. Put a few drops into your drink. In natural wine, glycerin will not change color, it will simply sink down. In a fake, it will become red or yellow.

Shake the wine. In the present, the foam that appears will gather in the center, after which it will quickly subside. An artificial product will delight you with almost beer foam: it settles very slowly and gathers around the edges.

Helps to understand wine and chalk. You need to drop the drink on a piece of chalk and wait for it to dry. A real drop will become light, but the dyes will retain their color.

Do your friends know how to distinguish artificial wine from natural? Repost and tell them!

(and not only there, in our Krasnodar Territory of fakes too - darkness, darkness), you should not buy wine from your hands. Even if it looks like a factory label on it. 99 times out of 100 your purchase will be fake. And to pay for alcohol flavored with dyes and flavors 300-400 rubles, you see, it's a shame.

And how to distinguish natural wine from a fake?

Folk ways - a lot. The most commonly used indicator ordinary water. Try to offer this experiment to merchants (those who sell supposedly homemade and supposedly natural wine), I'm sure you will be refused under one pretext or another.

Option number 1

But everything is very simple. Pour a small glass of wine, carefully lower it into a container of water. If a violent reaction followed and the wine began to actively mix with H 2 O, coloring it, you will not noble drink, but a burda. When you take out the glass, you will see that instead of wine it contains water. If the diffusion is insignificant, only at the glass itself, with a high degree of probability we can say that this is real wine.

There is another variation of this experience at home. We collect water in a deep bowl, pour a small amount of wine in a vial, and pinch the neck with your finger. We lower it into the water, turn it over and remove the finger from the neck. If the drink is mixed with water, it is not natural wine. If the drink almost does not flow out, congratulations, you have a noble drink in front of you!

Radius channel: how to use water to determine the authenticity of wine.

Option number 2

This method is considered by experts to be the most reliable. Pour 10 grams of wine into a transparent glass or glass, add a little ordinary baking soda and observe. If the drink has a grayish-greenish-bluish tint, it is real. Fruit starch reacts with baking soda and changes color. A "synthetic" wine will remain as it was.

Misha robaqidze: experiment with soda.

Option 3

Put just a couple of drops of glycerin into a glass of wine. If the solution sinks to the bottom without changing color, the wine is good. And if the glycerin turns yellow or red, then you are holding a fake in your hands.

But it's all about the content. Is it possible to determine visually, without buying a bottle, good wine Or is this a complete scam?

Smell is important for wine. If it is too bright, such a ruminant-synthetic, then it could not have done without flavorings, refuse this.

Well, if we are talking about a factory bottle, which is not possible to uncork, pay attention to the price. Good wine is unlikely to cost less than 300-700 rubles (depending on where it is produced: here or abroad).

But the cork stopper has ceased to be an indicator of the quality of wine. Now even the oldest trademarks screw, breathable corks are held in high esteem.

Do not focus on the bottom either. It is believed that the concave bottom is a sign of authenticity. Not at all. In some European countries, for example, in the same Germany, wines are only with a flat bottom. It is forbidden to produce wine in other bottles there.

Label: the more modest and simpler the name, the more likely it is that the wine is good. Often, those who cannot boast of anything else sin with intricacy and ornateness, sommeliers believe. And in the end, you pay not for the contents, but for some bottle of colored glass in the shape of a cello, for example.

On a bottle of real wine, the label should be of high quality, without blurry letters, fuzzy words and traces of glue. It always contains the following information: country of origin, manufacturer, composition, content of alcohol, sugar, other components and date of manufacture. The date of manufacture must be printed on the label and not applied in any other way.

And one more thing: there is no concept of "powder wine". It's wrong to say so. What is meant by it, most often, wine from wine materials. Evaporating the water from the drink to get a mythical powder ... no one will do this - it is unprofitable. IN last resort, especially cunning businessmen, mix alcohol with water, add dyes and flavors and - voila! - pseudo-wine is ready!

Jigger - drink club Choosing the right wine. Cork bottle and label. Sommelier tips part 3.

Reader's opinion

Elementary knowledge from the school physics course will tell you that dry wine has a lower density than water. Because of this, high-quality dry wine will flow out of the glass and dissolve in water. And the one in which sugar was stuffed, that is, a fake, unnatural, has a higher density and remains in the glass. I'm not talking about the fact that the result of this experience can be anything at all. It all depends on the temperature of the water and wine. ... Try to pass through the EGAIS system with a fake, then you will tell. There are many excellent natural wines in the Kuban, the industry is on the rise, our winemakers bring gold medals from competitions around the world.
Editorial
Initially, in the article, we warned that the methods are folk. People are trying to distinguish fake wines, made in an artisanal way from I don’t understand what and often passed off as homemade. Including in the Kuban. YOU are talking about store-bought wines, and the "experiments" are by no means aimed at factory goods.

Roskachestvo examined cognacs of 47 three-year-old brands. Such cognacs are on average cheaper than more seasoned "brothers", sales volumes are higher. This means that there is a risk that in the pursuit of profit, the manufacturer will forget about quality. Only 5 out of 47 samples received high marks, and a third turned out to be a fake. What cognacs should not be taken,