JRC introduces ERM-AE202 — an ethanol certified reference material (about 11% vol.) for wine authenticity testing by SNIF-NMR and IRMS
On 13 January 2026 the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) announced the new certified reference material ERM-AE202 — an aqueous solution of ethanol from fermented grape sugar at about 11% vol. It is used to assess the distillation step and the accuracy of isotopic measurements with which laboratories detect the addition of exogenous sugar to grape must.
- Detecting exogenous sugars added to grape must to raise alcohol content relies on stable isotope ratio analysis: deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (SNIF-NMR) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Methods OIV-MA-AS311-05 and OIV-MA-AS312-06 require distillation of the sample and further preparation — ERM-AE202 makes it possible to evaluate the extraction yield and the performance of the whole procedure.
- Certified values: (D/H)I 103.5 ± 0.7 and (D/H)II 130.6 ± 1.5 (×10⁻⁶ mol/mol), R 2.522 ± 0.005, δ¹³C −25.98 ± 0.10‰, δ¹⁸O −6.50 ± 0.25‰ (method OIV-MA-AS2-12) and alcoholic strength 10.95 ± 0.08% vol.; expanded uncertainty with k = 2, estimated according to ISO 17034:2016 and ISO 33405:2024.
- D/H and R values are traceable to VSMOW via certified tetramethylurea (TMU), δ¹³C to VPDB, δ¹⁸O to VSMOW, and alcoholic strength (densimetry or KFT) to the SI. Minimum sample amounts: 200 mL for D/H, R and δ¹³C, 200 µL for δ¹⁸O and 7 mL for alcoholic strength by densimetry.
- The material is supplied in amber glass bottles of at least 400 mL; the certificate was signed in Geel in December 2025, and the JRC reference material producer operates under ISO 17034. The JRC names Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as the basis for wine authenticity testing.