Seasoned wine drinkers may be able to identify the grape varieties they are drinking by flavour alone, but medical researchers at the University of Texas have developed a way to positively recognise what is in a wine.

A sensor created by the researchers can tell the difference between tannins in various types of grapes, after computer program findings indicated that tannins produce their own distinct "fingerprints", Wine Spectator reports.

Although the technique is still in development, it is believed that the tool could help wine companies to guarantee the authenticity of their produce and make life harder for those who counterfeit expensive Bordeaux and Burgundy wines.

"The real basis of this work is to prove that technology can distinguish mixtures of chemicals and where they come from," Dr Eric Anslyn, who led the research, told the publication.

"With the limited set of wines we studied we could tell one varietal from another with some outliers."

The development comes at a particularly apt time, after six people were detained in China on suspicion of adulterating red wine and passing it off as a superior product.