Since its launch in June, L-WIN – The Universal Wine Identifier – has received increasing support from the fine wine trade. In order to add further value to L-WIN and enable faster and more accurate matching, we have now appended additional data to each code, detailing the wine’s country, region, colour, designation and, where relevant, classification.
L-WIN is a seven-digit numerical code, designed to act as a common language for wine trade participants. Over the last five months, L-WIN has been embraced by a number of Liv-ex member merchants, as well as warehouses and software providers, such as Octavian Vaults and Ontech Solutions – the provider of database and stock management systems to London City Bond.
L-WIN stands for the Liv-ex Wine Identification Number. We implemented the system earlier this year in order to improve the simplicity, speed and accuracy of data and information exchange across the wine industry.
Each code refers to the wine itself (i.e. the producer and brand, grape or vineyard), with the first six numbers of the code representing each wine’s unique identifier and the seventh functioning as a “check digit” that minimises input errors. Additional information, such as the vintage, bottle size or pack size, can be added as separate fields. In short, L-WIN allows companies to keep their preferred naming system, while introducing a new, universal code.
To date, more than 13,000 unique labels have been assigned L-WINs. These codes are available free of charge via a dedicated page on Liv-ex.com.
