And So It Begins - The Fight Against Fraud Written

More and more wines are being proven fraudulent, robbing collectors of hundreds to thousands of dollars. Chemists have decided to step in and create a potential early warning system.

With all the talk of wine fraud these days, it is no wonder that many scientists have been applying themselves to the task of inventing a device that will detect fraudulent wines. Well here is today's latest iteration. As reported on by no less that the Royal Chemistry Society, Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera from the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics and others not credited in the report, have made a portable device that can detect and identify a given wine. Based on the language in the report this is done by referencing a database of tastes that the device has already "learned" over time, much like a human taster does, building upon years of tasting to develop a "library" of experiences and references that can be accessed for comparative purposes.

The following is a quote taken directly from The Analyst, a publication of the Royal Chemistry Society:

"Jiménez-Jorquera's electronic tongue combines an array of six ion-sensitive field effect transistor-based chemical sensors, with cross-sensitivity to multiple ions in solution. The data is then analysed with an appropriate chemometric method. 'This system enables the rapid and simultaneous measurement of different analytical parameters related to the quality control of wines and grape juices,' says Jiménez-Jorquera.

The electronic tongue is small and robust, Jiménez-Jorquera explains, and it is portable - which is essential for field measurements. She adds that the device could be used to detect frauds committed regarding the vintage year of the wine, or the grape varieties used."

So there is a fundamental flaw in this device, again, only as I know it from newswire services, I have yet to get the skinny from Dr. Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera to date, but rest assured when and if, I will let you know what the down low truly is. The flaw I see? What if the machine is mis-programmed with a wine that was thought to be authentic? Suppose a bottle of say, '61 Latour that was supposed to be legit is now entered into the database? So far what we know is that this device measures sugars, alcohol levels, and acid to identify a wine, via six transmitters. This is said to identify a varietal. Which then begs the question what of meritage wines? How does the intermingling of several different grapes affect the outcome "fingerprint" that this device uses to make identification? What of bottle variation in a given harvest? I'm not trying to rain on a parade here, I think this will be the road taken to fight fraud in high-end wine as well as the much more common practice of fraud on the low end high volume scale. Btu when all you are doing is taking a "fingerprint" you have to make sure that 1) your six points of identification cannot be fooled or give up false-positives, i.e. my scenario above about blends and such. 2) Your source material is above reproach what if AFIS was hacked and a bunch of fake fingerprints inserted? Yikes...

Again, as I reread this I come off negative. Hardly. I hope we are able, and soon, to enjoy the kind of portable technology that one could simply bring up to an auction and perform lot testing on suspect of highly prized wines. It'd be easy to sample a small amount of the liquid without harming the wine, details of which we probably shouldn't just post on the internet, but it can be done. I look forward to learning more about Dr. Jiménez-Jorquera's electronic tongue.

But will the auction houses like it?