French winery picks NFC tags for authentication

Château Le Pin is using NFC for product authentication

Prestigious Bordeaux winery Château Le Pin, which produces some of the most expensive wines in the world, has partnered with NFC object identification specialist Selinko to attach NFC tags to wine bottles so users can authenticate the vintage with the tap of their phone.

The NFC tags are located behind the label on the winery's Vintage 2010 range, with bottles selling at €2,000 to €2,500 each. Users who download Selinko's free Android app can tap their NFC phone against the bottle to authenticate the product as well as access other information including the serial number, information on the vineyard and the grape variety in the wine.

Selinko told NFC World: "Le Pin is probably the most prestigious French Bordeaux Pomerol and they were looking for a solution to protect their wines. That's when we placed NFC tags behind the labels to make it possible to see if the bottle is authentic with one tap.

"When a customer buys a bottle, they know it's protected by the Selinko logo in the bottom corner. Every case contains a flyer that gives the customers instructions of how to download our app and how to access the content on the tag."

Selinko is also working with designer clothing brand Daniel Hechter and a major leather goods brand to introduce NFC tags for product authentication, the company says.