Almost 1 million litres of wine have been quarantined by some of Australia’s largest companies during an authenticity investigation by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation into the operations of the South Australian bulk producer Rivers Wines.
The wine was sold as 2003 Chardonnay to major companies including Orlando Wyndham and BRL Hardy. The Corporation has already suspended Rivers Wines’ export license.
AWBC’s compliance manager Steve Guy said the companies were acting on its advice and having the wine technically analysed and seeking further documentation. Concerns about the authenticity of the wine arose after tasting evaluations.
Depending on the outcome of the current tests, options include relabelling the wine with a generic name such as ‘dry white’, returning it or seeking legal redress. Australian wine exports have to pass formal testings to establish truth in labelling and that they are ‘sound and merchantable.’
The Corporation conducts random audits. However, Guy said the present inquiry was the result of an industry initiative. “Not only are we acting swiftly and strongly, the industry itself brought the matter to our attention. That’s a very positive thing.”
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