One third of wine production in Russia is counterfeit. And more counterfeits among the cheapest and chassis brands, experts say.
The overall rate of adulteration in the market of wine products is not less than 40%, said the head of the Center of researches Federal and regional alcohol markets Vadim Drobiz. To the segment of wine production include not only ordinary and sparkling wines, wine beverages, but also vermouth, cognac, brandy. The share of substandard products accounted for all of these types of drinks. Why Russia is a lot of fake alcohol, how to distinguish fake from real drink and what to do if the buyer is dissatisfied with the quality of the wine, said the experts.
“A third of the market of wine products in Russia is counterfeit. It is mainly concentrated in the cheapest “popular” segment. All just as, for example, with a bad pasta. Falsificadores wine product plays the role of “social” — said Drobiz. — At the vodka market, for example, plays that role of illegal vodka factory and pharmacy tincture with alcohol-containing liquids. Most importantly, the unified state automated information system of accounting of production volume and turnover of ethyl alcohol) will remove only the illegal wine products. But in Russia, the entire wine adulteration legal, in the sense that it paid the excise tax. That is, in the wine-growing sector that is considered to be an illegal product, virtually no. Here in the strong alcohol is beneficial to steal the excise tax, except that cognac is no exception. On a bottle of vodka excise tax of 100 rubles, and the bottle of wine he’s miserable — 5-6 rubles. It is more profitable to save it on the wine”.
For the manufacture of wine production of wine materials used (roughly speaking — concentrated grape juice). In 2015, Russia produced around 300 million liters of wine, 200 million liters came from abroad.
According to experts, last year the volume of import of wine materials in Russia took first place in Ukraine — about 35-40% of supply comes from this country. However, in Ukraine itself there is practically no wine and, most of all, we are talking about “Moldovan transit”. The change from year to year the volumes of deliveries from Spain, Argentina, Chile, France, Australia, South Africa and even from Uzbekistan.
The Director of Club of professionals of the alcoholic market of St. Petersburg Maxim Chernigovskiy offers to decide what constitutes a counterfeit. It’s one thing when a small factory produces questionable drinks, the names of whom he himself invents. And another when under the well-known wine brand produces a completely different drink. To fake products of famous wine producers more profitable — faster it is implemented, however, there is a risk of being prosecuted for violation of “copyright”. The expert believes that in large retail chains do not sell massively illegal and adulterated products.
From 1 January 2016 earned yegais accounting of alcohol. That is, the fixation of all purchases of liquor in retail stores is mandatory. In test mode, the majority of online shops joined the system in July 2015. However, at this moment is recorded only the fact of purchase of store, but not its sale to the final buyer.
“There is absolutely lawful question: and where it is illegal products? In 2012 in Russia it was selling 305 thousand outlets. On 1 January 2016 such stores left That is 229 thousand 76 thousand stores disappeared because they failed to cope with the stricter legislative regime. But not all of these retail stores have stopped selling alcoholic beverages. They just came out of licensed turnover, lost of retail licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages, but began to trade under the counter. From July 1 to 15% of the remaining 229 thousand points will go too of licensed turnover” — suggests Chernihiv.
Not be discounted and trade through the Internet. Night ban on the sale of alcohol costs quite easily. “You will be ready to bring the canister pseudowire or pseudoloma for 400-600 rubles, which is simply unrealistic. Of course, it is illegal products that are “pumped” absolutely cynical and brazen manner”, — said the expert.
While Chernihiv believes that counterfeit spirits (particularly vodka) is more common than the falsification of wine and wine beverages.
“Vodka — a popular alcoholic drink, it is the highest excise tax. For a bottle of vodka of 0,5 liter excise tax is laid of one at $ 100. Plus 18% VAT. That is, with illegal bottles can already be in your pocket to put 118 rubles. And wine beverage excise tax to 9 rubles. That is, the incentive to forge is not so serious,” — said in Chernihiv.
Is it possible to find a justice on the sellers of illegal alcohol? According to the expert, the purchaser has the chance not only to return the money for counterfeiting, but also to prosecute the trade network, as well as the manufacturer. To do this, just need to complain to the quality control center.
Contact the St. Petersburg state budgetary institution “Center of quality control of goods (products), works and services” is completely free. Buyers are asked not to bring to the examination of the wine or other products — is enough to file a complaint with attached cheque. “We have agreements with almost all major shops in the city. After receipt of the appeal, we come to a specific store, select the sample from the specific batch to be specified on the product label. Then do the test and the result reported confidenziale”, — noted in the centre.
With the conclusion of the center the buyer can go to court. Also with the results of the examination he can come to the store and request a refund for the defective product. “The Center itself does not accept any repressive measures. We can only recommend the shop not to work with a company that has violated the condition of storage or delivery”, — told in the Center.
On consideration of the complaint, withdrawal of product, laboratory research, and publication of the result takes about 7-10 days.
The problem is that that in Russia is quite a passive society. To go to court and apply to the Center not all ready.
Lead engineer, post-graduate student of chair of applied biotechnology, St. Petersburg national research University ITMO Yuliya Nasonova emphasizes that the technological operations for the manufacture of wine are significantly different from the work of the technologist over any other beverage. Dishonest manufacturers have learned to give a mixture of water, sugar, aniline dye and citric acid present in grape wine. Adulterated alcoholic drink — not just a low-quality product that does not meet standards, it can harm your health.
In the store to assess the quality of the wine difficult. Forge bottle and label the famous wine of the company even in the basement. Resemblance to the original will be one hundred percent. And, therefore, cannot rely only on the appearance of the bottle.
You should pay attention to the amount of sediment. To do this, send the bottle to the light and overturn sharp movement down the neck. If there is a lot of sediment, it can be a sign of a bad drink. Top-quality wines usually contain a certain amount of sediment, called wine stone. But the bottom of the bottle in any case they should not be totally covered. Good wine after shaking, the sediment rapidly sinks to the bottom.
Immediately after opening the bottle you need to pay attention to the tube. It should not be dry or leaking. A broken tube is not in compliance with the rules of wine storage. Experts recommend sniff the cork. If it feels musty smell, the wine bad, or its quality leaves much to be desired.
You can spend and “test the water”. A small amount of wine to pour into the bottle, pinch his neck hand, and then put the vial in the water. This is a wine without additives should not be mixed with water. It’s the most reliable test of consistency.
It is also worth to study the foam. The bottle must be shaken, and then pour a little wine into a glass. If the wine quality, the foam will gather in the center of the glass and quickly subsides. To bad the drink is foam at the edges, slowly dropping.
In addition, although each brand of wine has its own unique flavour notes, every quality wine must not have any alcohol taste, this is a clear indicator of poor quality. The taste should not be felt alcohol.
