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Methods and systems for providing, by modules in a shipping facility, mechanisms for certifying provenance of an alcoholic beverage

Methods and systems for providing, by modules in a shipping facility, mechanisms for certifying provenance of an alcoholic beverage description/claims

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/890,149, entitled “Impeccable and Efficient Distribution of Wines Combined With Consumer Insight” filed Feb. 15, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for certifying provenance of alcoholic beverages. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods and systems for providing, by modules in a shipping facility, mechanisms for certifying provenance of an alcoholic beverage during its progress through a distribution channel.

Each year, 38 billion bottles of wine are produced in the world. The most critical component of certifiable value to the consumer, provenance (typically defined as authenticity, traceability and knowledge of storage temperatures), is unverifiable, anecdotal at best. When a winemaker ships wine to a consumer, there are various intermediaries between the wine maker and the end consumer, including master distributors, negociants, importers, wholesalers, wine retailers and restaurants. Many of these entities are customers of the previous entity in this distribution chain and in between them all are various forms of shippers and movers. Untracked temperature fluctuations during transport can harm the quality of this asset, yet no standard methods for temperature monitoring exists through this process. Wine producers care profoundly about the quality of their wines—it is the mainstay of the value of their brand. Yet they have had no way to consistently monitor the care given to their products in transit.

Furthermore, as fine wine increases in value, the sophistication of counterfeiting efforts grows, more and more counterfeit bottles are appearing, and many of these counterfeits go undiscovered. As it becomes more difficult, especially for the average wine consumer, to discern authentic from counterfeit, the need for winemakers to protect their brand, by enabling consumers to feel sure that they have an authentic bottle, mounts.

Additionally, counterfeit bottles are disruptive to the secondary markets such as fine wine auctions. Increasing amounts of testing are required for participation in fine wine auctions, especially by the more well known houses, such as Sotheby's. Many auctions planned over long periods of time have had to be cancelled or modified due to the unexpected discovery of counterfeit bottles in a collector's cellar. The ensuing legal battles from these discoveries result in negative publicity for all involved and may reduce the number of participants in fine wine auctions.

Counterfeiting is a serious issue among spirits as well as wines. The spirits market consists of the sale of brandy, gin & genever, liqueurs, rum, specialty spirits, tequila & mezcal, vodka and whisky. The global spirits market generated total revenues of $179.7 billion in 2005. Exports of all European spirits such as whisky and vodka to China reached 200 m in 2007, from just 8 m in 1999. In November of 2007, a quarter of all spirits brands claiming to be of European origin now sold in China are counterfeit, according to Jamie Fortescue, director general of the European Spirits Organisation. Fortescue stresses that the problem of fake brands is not unique to China—or for that matter Asia—by adding that there were also growing concerns regarding counterfeiting of alcohol in many Eastern European nations among others.

Manufacturing similar-looking counterfeit bottles, labels and capsules is also a common practice. In this case, a high-volume manufacturing operation produces counterfeit a alcoholic beverage and fills the counterfeit bottles, complete with counterfeit labels and capsules, with the counterfeit beverage. It may be difficult to distinguish a counterfeit bottle and its contents from an authentic bottle and its contents without opening the bottle and analysing the contents.

Refilling authentic spirits bottles with counterfeit beverages is a frequently used method in the counterfeiting of spirits. Conventional methods to validate content have to this point required chemical testing and typically require opening the bottle. Counterfeit spirits often include considerable health issues as substances such as methanol are known to be used in the production of the counterfeit beverages. Methanol can create health issues such as severe abdominal pain, drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision leading to blindness, and coma with breathing difficulties. The symptoms of methanol poisoning can be delayed for several hours further obfuscating cause and effect conclusions.

Spirits can have considerably higher alcohol content than wine; some even in the 30% range. As such “freezing” temperatures are less of an issue with spirits than with wines, but temperature-controlled containers for shipping are still required for most spirits especially in warmer climates and seasons to avoid issues with heat. Spirits, like wines, can be “cooked” at higher temperatures.

In one aspect, a system for providing mechanisms for certifying provenance of a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage during its progress through a distribution channel includes a packing module, a shipping module, and a storage element. The packing module associates a bottle tag number stored by a first radio-frequency identification tag attached to a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage with a tag identification number of a second radio-frequency identification tag attached to a case storing the bottle containing the alcoholic beverage. The shipping module validates the association between the bottle tag number and the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag and activates the second radio-frequency identification tag. The storage element stores the association between the bottle tag number and the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag. In one embodiment, the packing module includes a transmitter sending, to the storage element, a tag identification number stored by the second radio-frequency identification tag attached to the case. In another embodiment, the second radio-frequency identification tag is configured to measure a plurality of values of an environmental condition of the case.

In another aspect, a method for providing mechanisms for certifying provenance of a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage during its progress through a distribution channel includes the step of associating, by a packing module, a bottle tag number stored by a first radio-frequency identification tag attached to a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage with a tag identification number of a second radio-frequency identification tag attached to a case storing the bottle containing the alcoholic beverage. The method includes the step of verifying, by a shipping module, the association between the bottle tag number and the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag. The method includes the step of activating, by the shipping module, the second radio-frequency identification tag. The method includes the step of storing, by the storage element, the association between the bottle tag number and the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of transmitting, by the packing module, to the storage element, the association between the bottle tag number and the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag. In another embodiment, the method includes the step of associating, by the packing module, the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag with the identified bottle tag number for each bottle in a plurality of bottles stored in the case. In still another embodiment, the method includes the step of validating, by the packing module, the bottle tag number. In still even another embodiment, the method includes the step of updating, by the packing module, a status identifier associated with the tag identification number of the second radio-frequency identification tag and stored by the storage element. In yet another embodiment, the method includes the step of updating, by the packing module, a status identifier associated with the bottle tag number and stored by the storage element.

In still another aspect, a system for providing mechanisms for authenticating contents of a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage during its progress through a distribution channel includes a neck seal applicator module, a bottle tag attachment module, and a storage element. The neck seal applicator module attaches, to a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage, a neck seal including a neck seal identification number and an invisible security taggant. The bottle tag attachment module attaches, to the bottle containing the alcoholic beverage, a radio-frequency identification tag storing a bottle tag number. The storage element stores an association between the bottle tag number and the neck seal identification number.

In one embodiment, the storage element stores a local registry of associations. In another embodiment, the system includes a global registry, in communication with the storage element, storing a copy of the association. In still another embodiment, the system includes a control station in communication with the neck seal application module and the bottle tag attachment module. In yet another embodiment, the system includes an attachment station including the neck seal applicator module and the bottle tag attachment module. In some embodiments, the bottle is a wine bottle. In other embodiments, the bottle contains malt liquor. In still other embodiments, the bottle contains spirits.

In yet another aspect, a method for providing mechanisms for authenticating contents of a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage during its progress through a distribution channel includes the step of attaching, by a neck seal applicator module, a neck seal to a bottle containing an alcoholic beverage, the neck seal including a neck seal identification number and an invisible security taggant. The method includes the step of attaching, by a bottle tag attachment module, a radio-frequency identification tag to the bottle containing the alcoholic beverage, the radio-frequency identification tag storing a bottle tag number. The method includes the step of storing, by a storage element, an association between the bottle tag number and the neck seal identification number.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of attaching, by the bottle tag attachment module, to the bottle containing the alcoholic beverage, a neck seal including a bar code associated with the neck seal identification number. In another embodiment, the method includes the step of attaching, by the bottle tag attachment module, a passive radio-frequency identification tag to the bottle. In still another embodiment, the method includes the step of attaching, by the bottle tag attachment module, an active radio-frequency identification tag to the bottle containing the alcoholic beverage. In yet another embodiment, the method includes the step of depositing, during a bottling process, on a neck seal, an invisible security taggant.

• Provisional Patent
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