London International Vintners Exchange

LWIN (Liv-ex Wine Identification Number) is the universal wine identifier.[4] Liv-ex created it in 2011 to provide a standardised numbering system that is designed to avoid error in communication, transfer and referencing. It removes the need to rely on written descriptions and provides the key to establishing which item in one database corresponds to which item in another database, which is helpful in transactions between organisations.

The unique seven-digit numerical code is designed to quickly and accurately identify an individual fine wine product. It enables messaging between systems and over the internet, allowing the trade to share information more easily.

Each LWIN refers to the wine itself i.e. the producer, brand or vineyard. The first six numbers of the code represent each wine's unique identifier, while the seventh number is a “check digit” that minimises input errors. Additional information including the vintage, pack and bottle size can be appended to the LWIN in a standard format.

The LWIN standards for including additional data are:

• LWIN: 1234567 – Example winery, Cabernet
• LWIN-11: 12345672012 – Example Winery, Cabinet, 2012
• LWIN-16: 1234567201200750 – Example Winery, Cabernet, 2012, 750ml bottle size*
• LWIN-18: 123456720121200750 – Example Winery, Cabernet, 2012, 12 bottles of 750ml

For Liv-ex, LWINs are a foundation for the fine wine Exchange, from managing and sharing price data to maintaining the efficiency of their settlement and distribution services.

Wine Matcher is a web-based, artificial intelligence tool that allows merchants to take lists and transform them into a standardised set of wine names and formats with unique IDs (LWINs).[5] These IDs can easily be shared with other systems or entered into a database for comparison in a matter of minutes. It can also return the clean list with wine price data – such as Market Price or last trade – from Liv-ex.

In 2017, Wine Matcher was awarded ‘Supply Chain Initiative of the Year’ by The Drinks Business.[6] The judges called it a “very clever innovation” that “has far-reaching and practical implications for the fine wine trade”.

Liv-ex Automation allows members to automate their interactions with Liv-ex.

The technology that makes this work is known collectively as APIs (Application Programming Interface). APIs allow Liv-ex's platform to communicate with merchants' system or website, without any need for human intervention.[7]

Liv-ex provides its members with market analysis, including in-depth reports and market updates.[8] They cover new releases in their News and Insights section, as well as weekly trade, and interviews with important figures in the wine industry.

Liv-ex also publishes annual coverage on the Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, as well as Power 100 – their list of the most powerful brands in the fine wine market in conjunction with The Drinks Business.

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 Index tracks the daily price movement of the most heavily traded commodities in the fine wine market – the Bordeaux First Growths. It includes only the ten most recent vintages (excluding En Primeur), with no other qualifying criteria applied.

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index, which is available on Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters, is considered the industry benchmark. It represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines on the secondary market.

The Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 is Liv-ex's most comprehensive index for Bordeaux wines. It represents the price movement of 500 leading wines from the region and is calculated monthly using the Liv-ex Mid Price. It has been backdated to December 2003.

The index comprises six sub-indices: the Fine Wine 50, the Right Bank 50, the Second Wine 50, the Sauternes 50, the Right Bank 100 and the Left Bank 200.

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 tracks 1,000 wines from across the world using the Liv-ex Mid Price. It is calculated monthly and was rebased at 100 in December 2003. It comprises seven sub-indices: the Bordeaux 500, the Bordeaux Legends 50, the Burgundy 150, the Champagne 50, the Rhone 100, the Italy 100 and the Rest of the World 50.

Liv-ex recently launched the California 50 index, which tracks the performance of the last ten physical vintages of Screaming Eagle, Opus One, Dominus, Harlan Estate and Ridge Monte Bello.

In 2018, Liv-ex also created the Port 50 index, which tracks the price movements of the last ten vintages of the five most actively traded Port wines: Dow, Fonseca, Graham, Taylor and Warre.