The LWIN database, which is free to access, now contains detailed information on over 100,000 different wines and spirits. When different vintages are included in the count, this rises to 565,000.
This comes after a busy first half of 2021, when our team of wine specialists added 10,000 new wines and spirits to the database.
An LWIN (Liv-ex Wine Identification Number) is a seven or 11-digit number. They act like an ISBN for wine, allowing information about wine to be transferred seamlessly between systems – something that is otherwise challenging, since wine names are often recorded differently by different people.
The 100,000th wine was – quite appropriately for celebratory purposes – a Champagne. The Paradoxe Blanc de Noirs by J. M. Labruyere was given LWIN 2061735.
The country with the most wines and spirits in the LWIN database is France, with 40,120 different labels represented. The USA comes in second place, after a large number of its wines have been added to the database in the last four years to support increased trading in the US.
In total, wines and spirits from 86 different countries are listed in the database.
So what’s inside the database?
The database lists 100,000 different wines, which have each been assigned an LWIN.
Each of the 100,000+ wines inside the database come with detailed information about origin and type. Sometimes, this is complex and highly detailed, with geographic data going all the way down to the parcel name.
For others, it’s a bit more straightforward.
How to get started
The LWIN database is totally free to download and use. In fact, we encourage wine businesses to make use of LWIN. When more organisations share a common digital language for wine, sharing information will become easier, and the supply chain more efficient.
Antonio Galloni of Vinous, which has scores and reviews matched to LWIN, said: “As well as supporting the flow of information to help make the market more efficient, LWINs present interesting opportunities in product development.”
It has also helped warehousing solution Vinotheque (LCB) to achieve greater efficiency, better communication, and happier customers.
Our website includes useful information about how to get started, including a guide to LWIN, and free access to Wine Matcher which you can use to add LWINs to your wine list automatically.
