Carbon dating of vintage wine is possible thanks to grapes absorbing atomic test fallout.

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High atmosphere atomic tests from the 1940s through 1963 altered the distribution of carbon isotopes in CO₂ in the atmosphere.

This has created an isotope signature for each year which is embedded in the grapes used to make wines.

Wines can be tested for the presence of molecules from the year listed on the label.

Overpriced forgeries are easily spotted by the carbon dating method.

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