| Abstract: |
With bottles of wine auctioned at upwards of £5,000 a case, the fine wine industry is undoubtedly a lucrative one. However, the exclusivity of the fine wine market, the subjective nature of the value of wine and the intangible nature of those factors which influence wines’ value have together made counterfeiting the product extremely easy. Historically, the idea that a wine was liable to be ‘copied’ was so inconceivable that the majority of producers gave little attention to their branding. As a result, wines were often distributed in a range of different bottles. In the context of the contemporary market, this has made the authentication of aged wines all the more difficult – while high-value bottles may come with an authentication certificate, bogus documents could almost certainly slip through. |
