The Interprofessional Council of Bordeaux Wine released an estimate which pointed out that in 30,000 bottles per hour of wine is sold inChina. Due to the rate at which bottles of fake wine are being sold in China, Forbes is said to have referred to the occurrence as an epidemic in the country. To curb this epidemic, media outlets reported that Chinese wine enthusiasts are considering deploying blockchain technology as a means of detecting and tackling counterfeiting.

Key facts

30,000 bottles per hour – of wine is sold in China

– of wine is sold in China Fake wines – are an epidemic in China – and may even have health risks

are an epidemic in China – and may even have health risks Blockchain solves the issue of counterfeit wines completely – allows end-to-end supply chain tracking

the issue of counterfeit wines completely – allows end-to-end supply chain tracking Vechain app can validate wine authenticity via NFC and scan for bottling information and how it arrived at the location.

app can validate wine authenticity via NFC and scan for bottling information and how it arrived at the location. Vechain NFC tags are counterfeit-proof – each tag has a unique private key that cannot be replicated

The blockchain platforms, VeChain and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Direct Imported Goods (DIG), have agreed to make use of blockchain technology to reduce and possibly curb it. This isn’t the first time both companies are working together using blockchain technology as they have made use of blockchain technology to combat the selling of fake contraband fashion products in the past.

VeChain explained the working of the proposed blockchain technology application and noted that with the use of a smartphone app, customers will be able to scan QR codes on bottles and have access to other details such as the verification of the winery, grape types used during production, and Chinese custom’s declaration numbers.

The blockchain technology application will also give customers information about the exact time frame between which the bottle left the warehouse and its arrival at the final shopping outlet. Sources recorded that Pierre Ferraud & Fils, a french wine maker, already made a deal to sell 10,000 bottles of red wine that were produced at DIG outlets – the 2017 Beaujolais Nouveau. The wine producing company proposed that they will export 100,000 bottles that have been verified by blockchain technologies to DIG by 2019.