- Georgia, birthplace of wine, uses blockchain with Cardano to track bottle journeys, ensuring quality and fighting counterfeit fraud, in a nutshell.
- More than 30 wineries in Bolnisi record each bottle’s journey on Cardano blockchain, bolstering authenticity and elevating market trust globally.
Georgia, often hailed as the birthplace of wine, boasts a winemaking history stretching back thousands of years. Its traditional fermentation methods, such as the use of qvevris—large clay vessels—create wines with distinctive flavors that stand out in the global market.
The Georgian wine industry, valued at $260 million in exports, now has a game-changing tool at its disposal. Partnering with the Cardano Foundation, the National Wine Agency (NWA) of Georgia has implemented a blockchain-based traceability program that enhances transparency, protects provenance, and helps wineries command premium prices.
30 Wineries Track Bottles on Cardano
The initiative first took root with a pilot project in collaboration with Baia’s Wine and Scantrust. Encouraged by its success, the Georgian government expanded the project to a national level, selecting Bolnisi as the primary market for testing blockchain’s impact on the industry.
Over 30 wineries in Bolnisi now utilize the Cardano blockchain, tracking thousands of bottles from vineyard to glass. Each bottle’s journey is recorded on an immutable ledger, ensuring every step of production is verifiable. Certification procedures are also stored on the blockchain, eliminating doubts about authenticity.
Levan Mekhuzla, Chairman of the Georgian National Wine Agency, highlighted the transformative nature of the initiative:
Partnering with the Cardano Foundation has allowed us to effectively and efficiently digitize Georgian wines. Because all certification procedures are stored on the Cardano blockchain, we can trace the entire supply chain of each bottle. We certify not only that the wines comply with their labels, but that they have the highest possible quality. It’s proving a game-changer in showcasing our products and getting them to new markets.
Cardano Traceability Boosts Wine Trust
Counterfeit wines have long posed a threat to Georgia’s market reputation. The Cardano-powered traceability program acts as a safeguard, preventing fraud and ensuring that only genuine Georgian wines reach consumers. Wineries can now protect their appellations and prove the authenticity of their products with immutable records.
Source: Cardano Foundation
Scantrust’s QR code system plays a crucial role in this process. By scanning a bottle’s unique code, consumers can instantly access verified information, including grape varieties, production details, and supply chain data. This approach not only enhances consumer confidence but also provides a direct communication channel between wineries and buyers.
Baia Abuladze, CEO of Baia’s Wine, emphasized the international impact of the initiative:
The partnership with the Cardano Foundation has given us a truly effective and innovative solution to counterfeit problems that threaten our market reputation. It also makes it much easier to communicate with consumers. Now, anyone can see the rich history and verify the unique Georgian grape varieties behind our wines. And since then, our sales have expanded internationally to Canada, UK, and South Korea.
The Cardano blockchain provides a low-cost, highly efficient track-and-trace solution that meets international commercial standards. The supply chain data stored on the blockchain aligns with regulations set by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), whose 50 member states represent 87% of global wine production.
