Everledger, a blockchain technology firm based in London, has become the first organisation to secure a wine bottle’s provenance on the blockchain platform.
Yes, you read that right. The bottle is a 2001 Margaux, which was certified and secured on the Chai Wine Vault – a joint solution introduced by the firm and world-renowned fine wine expert Maureen Downey to transform provenance tracking in the fine wine industry.
Developed on the Linux Foundation Hyperledger Fabric, The Chai Wine Vault is authenticated and secured by IBM Blockchain that helps bring transparency, security and efficiency to transactions in a permissioned environment.
The Chai Wine Vault issues certification to bottles authenticated through Maureen Downey’s Chai Method (TCM) where 90+ data points are collected, in addition to high-resolution photography and records of a bottle’s ownership and storage. Everledger collates the details and creates a permanent, digital incarnation of the bottle that is written permanently into the blockchain.
Leoni Runge, Everledger’s head of fine wine, said: “We hear daily from our industry partners on the threat fraudulent bottles pose to sales, trust and most importantly reputation. Blockchain enables us to secure the identity of an asset in a way we haven’t been able to before. For the fine wine industry this means the opportunity to add a layer of transparency to every stage of a bottle’s journey across the supply chain.”
Donna Dillenberger, an IBM fellow, said: “Global trade fraud costs billions of dollars each year in lost revenue due to malicious activity or human record-keeping errors. Our work with blockchain shows the potential to dramatically reduce these losses by ingraining transparency and security in the system from the ground up. Working with Everledger in tracing the provenance of diamonds, and now wine, shows how the application of this technology can fundamentally change the way consumer goods are exchanged.”
Interested in hearing leading global brands discuss subjects like this in person? Find out more at the Blockchain Expo World Series, Global, Europe and North America.
