New wine authentication system

This week another new system to prevent wine fraud. In partnership with diamond-certifiers Everledger, the Chai Wine Vault system promises to secure wine’s provenance and authenticity by storing it in a digital ledger that uses a ‘blockchain’ system – essentially a database where each record is marked with a timestamp and can not be altered once it is sealed. It is the format used by bitcoins and other cyber currencies. To authenticate a bottle of wine, the Chai Method collects over 90 data points with high resolution photography and records of a bottle’s ownership and storage. It uses this information to create a digital thumbprint that forms the ‘blocks’ of the database. This then travels with the wine, being updated as the bottle changes hands. Licensed retailers, warehouses, auction houses and other sale platforms can link to the bottle’s digital identity to verify provenance. The Chai Vault system is set to be priced at US$700 for a one-off bottle fee, or US$1,200 for an inspection and report.