3,800 vinID enabled wine bottles and their digital twins sold at VDP. Rheingau’s 162nd wine auction
The bottles of fine wine were fitted with NFC tags that verify their authenticity physically and virtually with blockchain encryption
Zurich, 9th May, 2022: vinID, an application which enables wine collectors, enthusiasts and producers to connect wine bottles to a digital counterpart for authentication, cataloguing and communication about the wine, is proud to announce that the bottles of wine sold in this year’s famous VDP.Rheingau wine auction were closed with vinID seals.
For the first time, all bottles of the 48 auction lots were secured using blockchain technology, including some of Germany’s rarest and most coveted wines. The auction, which involved 12 wine producers, took place on 11th March, selling a total of 3,811 bottles. The auction dedicated 35,700 Euros of the proceeds to charities in the local area and the Ukraine.
Highlights included, a Schloss Johannisberger Riesling Beerenauslese Dunkelblaulack from 1915, two bottles of Rauenthaler Rothenberg from the 1967 vintage and a 1972 Assmannshäuser Höllenberg Spätburgunder Auslese.
The seals, fitted with Near Field Communication (NFC) devices, the same kind of technology found in contactless payment or transport cards to relay data, connect to the vinIDapp using Blockchain technology to encrypt the information stored, ensuring authenticity and proof of ownership of the wine.
The organisers of the historical, annual auction, the Association of Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) made the decision to collaborate with vinID as part of its innovation initiative to increase participation in the event, counteracting the impact of the health crisis. It is the VDP.Rheingau Auction’s second online edition, which has proved a great success, so much so that it has already started planning a hybrid edition for next year.
The collaboration with vinID ensures the authenticity of the wine, facilitating collection and cataloguing and can be used as a way to communicate with the collector:
Authentication and protection
As the vinID tags are positioned at the top of the wine bottle, the technology can recognise if the bottle has been opened. It is therefore not possible to uncork the bottle and later fill it with another wine at a later date, guaranteeing authenticity of the wine.
Collection and cataloguing
Bidders who won wine at the auction can scan the vinID bottleneck with their smartphone and create a digital version that can be saved to their digital wine cellar. Information about the wine is stored in the blockchain in an unalterable way, creating a unique ownership history for each bottle. This information can be used for insurance, wealth management, succession etc.
Communication with the collector
The wine brand can use the tag as an information channel to communicate with the customer, keeping them up-to-date with the latest news from the vineyard, specific updates about the vintage, that years’ wine harvest and more. The news can be personalised to reflect the interest of the consumer and the product they have bought.
More information about the sales at the VDP.Rheingau wine auction can be found here a video illustrating the auction here.
About vinID
vinID is the application for fine wine by collectID which combines the passion and appreciation for wine with state-of-the-art technology.
The technology developed by collectID has been successfully implemented in the luxury and sports industry. vinID is a fully owned subsidiary of collectID AG, based in Switzerland.