Liv-ex launches universal wine ID system

Published: 15 June, 2011

Fine wine exchange Liv-ex has launched a universal wine code with the aim of simplifying how the industry tracks wine.

The free L-WIN code is a unique seven-digit numerical code is designed to be used to quickly and accurately identify a wine on a database.

Producers can retain their preferred wine names, while making it easier for the rest of the industry to trace their wines.

Liv-ex claims the L-WIN will help warehouses to improve database accuracy, traders to avoid identification errors when buying or selling wine, and logistics staff to better track their orders.

James Miles, Liv-ex director, said: "We have designed L-WIN to serve as a common language for the wine trade. L-WIN compatible users will be able to transfer large amounts of data - whether that be price lists, warehouse records or purchase orders - to other users in an instant. And both sides will be able to identify exactly which wines the records refer to."

Alan Gilchrist, managing director of Ontech Solutions, the provider of database and stock management systems to London City Bond, has backed the initiative: "The wine trade has long suffered from inconsistent naming and coding systems, making fast and accurate identification of the product unnecessarily time-consuming."

Wine recommendation site Adegga already offers a similar code known as an AVIN, but this identifies each wine, including each vintage, with a unique code. AVIN codes are aimed at online use to group together all the blog posts about a particular wine in one place.

By contrast, L-WIN refers to the wine by producer and brand, grape or vineyard. Additional information, such as the vintage, bottle size or pack size can be added as separate fields.

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