Key Findings

Michael Egan served as an expert witness in the Greenberg vs Koch trial in 2013. While on the stand, he made several findings about wine bottles, and authentication notes that may be useful when looking at your own bottles of wine. His testimony can be read here.

Capsule:

• Rubbing on a capsule is often used to simulate age;

Cork:

• Corks are often too short or too long. The standard length for early 20^th century corks was 5.2cm;

Label:

• Until the mid-50s, magnums would have had labels the same size as those for a bottle;
• Print quality is key; often a counterfeit will show it has much lower print quality, with faded printing, not firmly impressed;
• Paper quality is often much lower than would be expected for a quality producer;
• There may be signs of artificial ageing – substances applied to make the label look older than it is;
• A “Nicolas” back label (“Ce vin doit être décanté) should be accompanied by a Nicolas stamp on the front label. This stamp should be carefully applied, usually over the vintage.

Bottle:

• The fill level should be commensurate with the age of the bottle. Bottom neck, for example, is too high for a 50 year old wine;
• After 1930, all bottles should have the contents embossed on them;
• By the end of WWI, wine bottles were being machine-manufactured in a three-part mould

Reconditioning:

• This would be clearly marked on the cork, and would often have a new label applied