RFID system improves transparency in wine supply chain

In the wine industry, the journey of a great bottle of wine from the winery to the consumer is often full of unknowns. These precious liquids may travel thousands of miles and endure years or even decades before they end up on the shelves of a small shop or restaurant. However, there is often no way of knowing the conditions and experiences they have been stored in during this long journey, which can be a huge challenge for wineries, consumers and the wine industry as a whole.

dVin Labs utilises RedBite's technology to improve transparency and efficiency in the wine supply chain through blockchain and RFID tag.

The complexity of the wine supply chain lies in its highly decentralised nature. Unlike the spirits industry, wines come from as many as 30,000 independent winemakers around the world, and these are often sent to small boutiques, restaurants or shops, where inventory is often managed in a primitive way that lacks digital records. As a result, the supply chain for a bottle of investment-grade, collectible or rare wine has little to no digital trail, making it difficult for wineries to understand where, when and how their product is being transported, purchased and consumed.

dVin Labs' solution is an automated blockchain-based management system that uses RFID data and RedBite's software platform to track information about each bottle of wine as it travels through shipping, storage, purchase, and consumption. It records each bottle's digital identification, life story, and surrounding conditions all the way to the consumer.

Through UHF RFID embedded in bottle tags and NFC for consumers to access data with their mobile phones, dVin Labs is able to automatically identify arriving and departing bottles and track their storage conditions.

dVin Labs' solution provides consumers with more information about where, when and how the wine they buy was harvested. Secondly, it has incentivised supply chain players such as warehouses, trucks and containers to prove the quality of their service by updating their ledgers with small payments. In addition, it promotes co-operation and information sharing between winemakers, distributors and consumers, contributing to a more transparent and sustainable wine industry.