Detecting bogus wine vintages: It's an (atomic) blast

Two decades of atomic bomb testing in the atmosphere are yielding an unexpected bonus for consumers, scientists reported here at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It's a new test to decide whether that Bordeaux or burgundy is from a fine vintage year and commands premium price or actually is a counterfeit vine ordinaries or cheap plonk worth much less.

Graham Jones, Ph.D., who headed the research, said that misrepresenting the vintage the year the wine was made is an ongoing problem. He is with the University of Adelaide, Australia. Some years bring perfect rising conditions for vineyards in a country or region of a country and the grapes produce excellent wines that command premium prices. In other years, bad weather, such as heavy late-season rains that bloat grapes with water or long hot, dry spells at harvest, means poor quality wines. Some wine experts estimate that up to 5 percent of the fine wine sold today is fake.