There have been several stories recently about counterfeit wine. It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that the wines chosen for schemes like this are higher priced wines. An example in Italy is Brunello di Montalcino, which often starts in the $60-$70 per bottle range. Now one industry organization is fighting back.
The Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino has created a system to verify the origin of wines of Montalcino. Go to their website, select the type of wine, the size, and enter the number from the DOC or DOCG label, and you will immediately have the truth about whether the bottle in front of you is authentic or not. They say the current system works for Brunello di Montalcino vintage 1999 or later, and Rosso di Montalcino vintage 2005 or later.