Authentication

The Process

• It is almost impossible to confidently determine a wine or spirit's authenticity from photographs, though they may be an informative first step.

• When I come to inspect, I will look at the bottle, labels, and capsule with various tools and references. Often a determination can be made from that.

• I may ask to cut the capsule to inspect the cork. This is done making a "T" cut under the bottle's lip and peeling back two sides. Afterwards, this can be resealed with tape, preserving as much of the original capsule as possible. It is worth noting that many prestigious bottles have had cut capsules, and this does not necessarily detract from their value. 

• In more extreme cases, additional inspection may be required, and/or testing on the subject property, or possibly sending the bottle to the Château or Domaine for their inspection and verification. This is because some proprietary safeguards exist that may not be disseminated, even to us. 

• We understand that authentication is a deeply sensitive issue, and our standards of confidentiality extend to inquires. 

• While not explicitly mandated as a destruction order for counterfeit wine, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) does have regulations under Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations (27 CFR § 19.459) that allow for the voluntary destruction of wine, including counterfeit wine, after a notice is filed. It is our firm recommendation that bottles with a high confidence of inauthenticity be destroyed.