Researchers in France have found a way to identify wine so accurately they can pinpoint where the drink was made and in which barrel it was fermented.
It uses an electronic nose to make even the most well established sommelier a little nervous.
The unique way exploits the complex mix of thousands of compounds found in each bottle of wine that gives the drink subtly different scents and flavours.
Researchers analyzed the compounds in vaporised samples of wine to produce detailed chemical signatures that can be matched against a database of characteristics to identify a wine's source. They did so by using a kind of electronic nose, known as a mass spectrometer, reports The Telegraph.
It means they can tell exactly which variety of grape a wine is made from, the region and vineyard where it was produced and the source of the wood used in the barrel.
Regis Gougeon, from the University of Bourgogne, in Dijon, France, who led the research, said: "In winemaking, several processes can subtly modulate the characteristics of wine.
"Wine experts use their eyes, mouth and nose as detectors and are able to distinguish wines according to their ages, grape varieties, terroirs.
"All we know is that so far, none of the sensory analyses of the wines we looked at could discriminate like we did.
"Our approach reveals the extremely high yet unknown chemical diversity of wine. It was exciting to be able to observe such a diversity at once, where many compounds, even in low concentration, may contribute to the body of the wine."
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