You’ll have tasted many wines in different bottles without dwelling on all the packaging components. Have you ever wondered what that band placed on the neck of the bottle is and what it is for? That band is the State Mark that is printed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato and serves to certify the authenticity of the product. It contains anti-counterfeiting systems for the traceability of wines.

In 2001, for the first time, a decree was issued. It obliges all wine productions with a Designation of Origin to undergo a systematic control by the Consorzio di Tutela in compliance with the rules provided for by the Regulations.

Subsequently, in 2009, a new European Regulation came into force which provided for the assignment of control activities to Third-Party Certification Bodies, public or private. Therefore, according to Italian legislation, Consortia must be entrusted with the protection, supervision, and Denomination enhancement.

Valoritalia is the body that verifies every phase of the production of all DOCG wines and offers an efficient traceability system in order to guarantee the consumer the exact origin of the products. Before being able to sell the wines, they must go to this body for all the necessary checks that allow the product to be in order and to receive the band.

The State Mark is mandatory for all wines with a Designation of Origin, particularly for DOCG.

To guarantee the authenticity and validity of the product and allow the traceability of the wine, the band shows a series of alphanumeric codes that protect the consumer from any attempt at imitation or falsification. Usually there are 6 elements:

1. The State logo;
2. The words “Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies” that wrap around the logo;
3. The abbreviation DOC or DOCG depending on the Denomination to which the wine belongs;
4. Two security codes: the progressive identification number/code or control code and the alphanumeric series or cash on delivery number;
5. The nominal volume of the product in liters;
6. The identification code and the nominal volume in the form of a barcode.

It’s essential to point out that in the DOCG bands, there is the name of the Denomination, while in the bands of the DOC, the wording is not there.

If you want to verify the authenticity of the data of the band and wine, anyone can do it through the “Trustyourwine” service of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, thanks to the control code and the cash-on-delivery number.

Azienda Agricola Drusian Francesco, Via Anche 1 – 31049 Bigolino di Valdobbiadene – Italy