IBM and eProvenance, a company specializing in monitoring and analyzing shipping conditions for wine, have announced the availability of VinAssure. It is a new platform based on blockchain technology that tracks wines in each phase of their distribution chain, from the vineyard until it reaches the consumer’s table. Thanks to this, its traceability is not only more secure, it also promotes transparency, accountability and the rapid exchange of data.
VinAssure helps ensure that the rigorous methods that wine producers use are not affected by errors in the supply chain, incorrect labeling or unsuitable conditions during transport. At the same time, it provides consumers with information that guarantees that the wine they buy meets their expectations.
The platform is available on the IBM Cloud and has been built on the IBM Blockchain Transparent Supply. It is designed to use advanced technologies, including blockchain, artificial intelligence and the cloud, to optimize the benefits of all participants. Among them are wine producers, intermediaries, importers, transporters, distributors, restaurants and retailers.
With a guarantee for the wine consumers
The first member of VinAssure is De Maison Selections, an importer of wines, ciders and other alcoholic beverages in the United States from independent producers in Spain and France. Specifically, it distributes 31 Spanish beverages, made with the product of independent winemakers and wineries from different regions of our country, such as La Rioja, Navarra, the Basque Country, Asturias, Andalusia, Galicia, Catalonia, Castilla y León and Mallorca.
The provenance and integrity of the beverages you import are a guaranteed factor in your product catalog. Wines and cavas such as those made by the Avinyó winery, in the province of Barcelona; or those of the Telmo Rodríguez wineries, with their selection of Pegaso wines, made in an ecological way from the characteristic slate and granite terrain of Cebredos (Ávila), which maintain a traditional and respectful cultivation with the land.
As the membership of this platform increases, both different professionals in the supply chain and consumers will be able to access more information about the product. The activity in the vineyards, as well as the transport and delivery, is validated and stored through blockchain technology. Using existing identifiers, such as the QR code on the bottle, consumers can find out, for example, the wine’s provenance and flavor profiles, or whether it meets organic, biodynamic or sustainability certification standards.