(Wine-Searcher) - French scientists have made tracing the exact origin of a winery's barriques, foudres and demi-muids easier.

Precision winemakers and fraud inspectors just got a helping hand from French researchers decoding the oak genome: they can now trace the origins of the oak used for wine barrels.

"In 2000, we were able to identify the geographic origin of the tree," said research engineer Erwan Guichoux at the Bordeaux-Aquitaine branch of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). "Now we've greatly improved the technical aspects of doing that and we can identify the species."

For most of the world's wine, the impact will be nil. Less than 2 percent of our wine ever spends time in an oak barrel. But winemakers crafting premium wines, rely on French oak barrels for their tannins and the flavors of vanilla, clove, caramel, and smoke that they impart.

At 600 to 850 euros ($750 to $1000) a barrel, it's a significant expense. Barrels made from Eastern European oak cost far less, but there’s a drawback.

"They don’t have the same regularity of aromas as French oak and you can't guarantee the quality," said Jean-Luc Sylvain, chief executive of Tonnellerie Sylvain near Bordeaux, and president of the French Coopers Federation. "We’ve been managing our oak forests for 350 years."