UT Researchers Are Developing Technology To Identify Counterfeit Wine

Feb 18, 2016

(KVUE) - “The program is quite special because it's outside any other curriculum the university carries out,” said research advocate Diana Zamora.

Students get hands on experience to apply to real-world research. The group uses a special metal that displays different color patterns depending on what type of wine is poured over it.

“But it also shows based on absorbency value that you can quantitatively measure,” said mentor Michelle Winkler. “You can see these grouping of different types.”

It determines anything from Zinfandel to Pinot Noir.

“It definitely goes beyond what is typical of introductory chemistry labs,” Herrera said.

The sensors reveal details about each wine, such as when it was harvested or what grapes were used.

Part of what inspired the project was a lawsuit in Calif. A director thought a wine he was drinking tasted funny. Turns out, the wine distributor was knowingly receiving grapes from a French company that were incorrectly identified.

The result of the lawsuit? More money needed to be dedicated to finding a way to scientifically identify incidents like this.

“We are trying to see if our system can be more sensitive,” Zamora said.

Students and staff said the project can potentially spark an even bigger experiment down the road. These sensors can be adapted to improve homeland security to food science to medical diagnoses. 

“In the long run we would want to do clinical diagnostics where we could take blood and put it somewhere, [to] determine if it’s a certain disease,”  Herrera said.

But for now it’s about taking small steps.

"I mean the wine industry is a pretty big industry--so it is applicable,” Herrera said.

For more information on the group's research, go here.


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