Authentication is the process of making an informed judgement on a product’s authenticity and condition.
Each fine wine and spirits bottle that arrives in the FINE+RARE warehouse is inspected for condition. Certain products that are either historically high-value or classified as high-risk are subject to additional, more thorough, detailed checks. These additional checks are known as the “authentication process”.
On average, the FINE+RARE Authentication Team processes 200 bottles per week. This equates to circa £1,000,000 worth of wine and spirits per month.
All of these bottles are thoroughly examined and cross-referenced with details from stock of known provenance.
About the team
Most authenticators undergo an apprenticeship, learning the key tricks of the trade from their peers. It is vital to examine as many bottles as possible, comparing them with bottles of traceable provenance.
If any concerns are raised during the authentication process, they are documented in a special report which is discussed in a meeting with the Authentication Team, the UK Managing Director and the Head of Buying. The outcome of this meeting determines the course of action regarding this particular bottle.
Michael Midlane heads up the established authentication programme at FINE+RARE.