- Georgia, known as the birthplace of wine, is using blockchain technology with Cardano to track the journey of wine bottles, ensuring quality and combating counterfeit fraud.
- More than 30 wineries in Bolnisi are leveraging Cardano blockchain to record the journey of each bottle, enhancing authenticity and building trust in the global market.
Georgia has a rich winemaking history dating back thousands of years and is renowned for its traditional methods that produce wines with unique flavors, thanks to techniques like fermenting in qvevris—large clay vessels.
The Georgian wine industry, valued at $260 million in exports, has embraced a groundbreaking tool through a partnership with the Cardano Foundation. The National Wine Agency of Georgia has introduced a blockchain-based traceability program to promote transparency, safeguard provenance, and enable wineries to command premium prices.
Tracking Bottles on Cardano
The initiative began with a successful pilot project in collaboration with Baia’s Wine and Scantrust. Following its success, the Georgian government expanded the project nationwide, focusing on Bolnisi as the primary market to test blockchain’s impact on the industry.
Now, over 30 wineries in Bolnisi are utilizing Cardano blockchain to track thousands of bottles from vineyard to glass. Each bottle’s journey is securely recorded on an immutable ledger, ensuring transparency in every stage of production. Certification processes are also stored on the blockchain, eliminating any doubts about the authenticity of the wine.
Levan Mekhuzla, Chairman of the Georgian National Wine Agency, emphasized the transformative nature of the initiative, stating, “Partnering with the Cardano Foundation has allowed us to digitize Georgian wines effectively and efficiently. By storing all certification procedures on the Cardano blockchain, we can trace the entire supply chain of each bottle, ensuring the highest quality and showcasing our products to new markets.”
Enhancing Trust with Cardano Traceability
To combat counterfeit wines and protect Georgia’s market reputation, the Cardano-powered traceability program serves as a safeguard, ensuring only authentic Georgian wines reach consumers. Wineries can now safeguard their appellations and verify the authenticity of their products with immutable records.
Source: Cardano Foundation
The QR code system by Scantrust plays a vital role in this process. Consumers can scan a bottle’s unique code to access verified information, including grape varieties, production details, and supply chain data, enhancing consumer confidence and facilitating direct communication between wineries and buyers.
Baia Abuladze, CEO of Baia’s Wine, highlighted the global impact of the initiative, stating, “The partnership with the Cardano Foundation has provided us with an innovative solution to counterfeit challenges, enhancing consumer communication and expanding our sales internationally to countries like Canada, the UK, and South Korea.”
The Cardano blockchain offers a cost-effective and efficient track-and-trace solution that aligns with international commercial standards. The supply chain data stored on the blockchain complies with regulations set by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), representing 50 member states responsible for 87% of global wine production.