Is Anyone Tagging Liquor for Supply Chain and Brand Protection?

Published: September 15, 2010

Counterfeiting is a huge problem in my country. How can RFID help with this problem?

—Name withheld

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A few years ago, Italian vintner Arnaldo Caprai experimented with a solution that involved tracking wine with RFID transponders embedded in an artificial cork (see Wine Bottles Get Corked With RFID). However, I do not believe a solution was ever deployed.

Startup firm eProvenance is offering a service for tracking fine wines “from château to consumer.” The company is employing a combination of semi-active (battery-assisted) and passive RFID technologies, as well as specialized ink, which work in concert to track, authenticate and monitor bottles of wine (see Startup Service Adds Smarts to Fine Wine).

Other companies are simply using RFID in their internal operations, rather than for tracking and authentication. KWV, a South African brandy and wine maker, has employed RFID technology to track its barrels as they are used to store wine and brandy being processed and aged. The system helps the company track where its barrels are located, the number of times they have been used and when new barrels need to be ordered (see Wine and Brandy Maker in High Spirits Over RFID).

—Mark Roberti, Editor, RFID Journal