CERTIFICATION
PW certification is an absolute guarantee to the public that the claims made on the packaging about the wine are true and that the wine was of good quality when it was evaluated by the Petite Winery team for certification. Such deep and detailed evaluation is very important for wine lovers.
A wine is only certified by our team when all the requirements of our “Wine of Origin Scheme” have been met. In other words, Petite Winery team will certify a wine if all the requirements regarding its origin (e.g. Paarl), nature (e.g. Riesling) and vintage (e.g. 2012) have been met and the wine has also been valued by one of our tasting board and it did not show any unacceptable quality characteristics as listed below.
Samples of all wines which are submitted for certification are also scientifically analysed to determine whether all the legal requirements.
If a claim is to be made on origin, cultivar or vintage, a wine has to be certified. A certification seal is put on the packaging of such wine, confirming that it was reviewed by Petite Winery proving it to be of good quality and that any claims made on the label were carefully checked and are truthful.
A strict control process is conducted when a producer wants to certify a particular wine.
Through an identification number on each certification seal, all information, from the pressing of the grapes, through the wine making process, to the certification of the final product can be established. Our control is completed at all stages, including when an application is made to press grapes, during pressing, blending and bottling, and also when the preliminary and our final approval is given.
During our rigorous evaluation to have the wines certified, a PW wine Expert looks out for the following possible unacceptable quality characteristics:
DESCRIPTION
Colour
Wine is not brilliant as it contains suspended particles or sediment.
Colour
With regard to age, cultivar and type of wine, Improper colour.
Insufficient colour.
Flavour design
Has an undesirable flavour (e.g. sulphuric compounds, oxidised, phenolic, geranium, volatile acidity, ethyl acetate, sulphur dioxide, cork, filtering material, oil, paint, mould, etc.).
Taste
Has an undesirable taste (e.g. too acidic, too harsh, too bitter, or that of sulphuric compounds, oxidised, phenolic, geranium, cork, etc).Has an excessively sharp spirit or brandy flavour. Has the character of an over-matured wine.
Origins
Below you’ll find some advice on spotting fakes:Beware The Famous Vintage. Almost always the counterfeits are Bordeaux wines from excellent vintages. If the wine is from a famous vintage: 1900, ’28,’45,.. be especially cautious.
Counterfeiting
Example: Look at capsule (the foil over the cork) and label critically; compare the capsule and label to known genuine bottle.
Need more advice?
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