Prooftag Bubbles Tag™ on prestigious wines of Comtes von Neipperg Vineyards
Taking safety precautions
“This situation,” explained Stephan von Neipperg, (who since 1998 has also been Vice-President of the Union of Bordeaux Grands Crus), “led to the conclusion that it was necessary to undertake quality protection safety measures and to safeguard the consumer. However, it has to be admitted that, as we were unable to agree upon an economic and collective solution at the level of our profession, the first attempts aiming for security at the bottle level were made mostly on an individual basis by those Châteaux with sufficient means.” Even if the regulations demand a traceability of lots, individual serialization is beyond the financial reach of many of the smaller producers. Apart from some falsified bottles of Saint-Emillion La Mondotte (whose unit prices vary between €500-700) in Asia, the eight Comtes von Neipperg vineyards have so far been spared by the forgers. It should be said that the House uses special labels that are particularly difficult to reproduce, notably with a coat of arms in watermark.
Unit traceability and authentication
Nevertheless, in the face of fraud and its negative impact on the image and reputation of the Châteaux, Stephan von Neipperg decided in 2006 to equip all his bottling lines with a unit tracing facility. Each label is serialized with 2D datamatrix code. This indentifier enables tracing both to the assemblage vat up the line, and to the destination address, all along and down the supply chain.
www.neipperg.com
Stephan von Neipperg
The first Bubble Tags™ were introduced with the La Mondotte vintage 2005, after which our entire production will be reinforced. Each bottle cap receives a Bubble Tag™, whose uniqueness and authenticity are easily verifiable by the consumer. This is a proactive approach, which contributes to the recognition and the security of our products.
