Piedmont winery, Vigneti Massa, is launching the 2022 vintage of its wines with near-field communication (NFC) and blockchain-enabled caps. As reported by The Drinks Business on Jan. 22, Vigneti Massa is the first winery in Europe, and the second globally, to prefer Guala Closures Nestgate technology.

Guala developed the technology with Grand duchy of luxembourg-based software company, Compellio. By tapping an NFC-equipped smartphone against the bottle's screw-cap, consumers tin can get information near the vino-growing region, the vineyard, and the vine that the wine came from. The platform also provides tasting notes and practiced reviews.

Additionally, the authenticity of the wine can be verified equally the connected closures are linked with a blockchain platform that provides a unique identification lawmaking for each bottle. Winery co-owner Walter Massa explained the importance of this characteristic:

"I phenomenon that is not talked nearly much is the counterfeiting of nifty wines […] As well every bit providing a new feel for the consumer, the NFC system guarantees the fight confronting counterfeiting and the 'blackness market' for these pearls of nature, assuring their authenticity and traceability."

Engineering science not just for high-terminate wines

The NFC-closures will be applied to Vigneti Massa'south Derthona wine, forth with iii of its most prestigious cru: Derthona Costa del Vento, Derthona Montecitorio and Derthona Sterpi.

Previous vintages of these wines are available from between $25–50 per bottle online, so this is far from a characteristic that is just available for the super rich, and over time the technology could filter down to even more affordable price points.