Tyler Jenks, co-founder of Very gave a keynote at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 7, 2018 at Georgetown University. In his keynote, called, “A Blockchain for Champagne? The Future of Agricultural Supply Chains,” Tyler reviewed the creation and history of champagne, including the Champagne Riots of 1911 and the passing of legislation that dictates that champagne can only be called champagne if it’s made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. Despite this legislation, the champagne industry faces widespread counterfeiting. Currently, France employs lobbyists to enforce the rules set in place, but Tyler envisions a world in the not-too-distant future where emerging technology could prevent counterfeiting altogether. Tyler explains how blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can better handle the verification of agricultural supply chain products like champagne. He also explains what resources would be needed to adopt this new take on agricultural supply chains and other areas where this approach could prove useful. Learn more at verypossible.com/blockchain

1. A Blockchain for Champagne?
The Future of Agricultural Supply Chains

2. A Blockchain for Champagne?
1693
“Come quickly! I am
drinking the stars!”

3. A Blockchain for Champagne?
325 years
of demand growth
• Champagne becomes preferred wine of the elite
• King Edward VII famously drank it out of ballet slippers

4. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Late 1800s
• Demand outpaces the region’s grape production
• Growers totally dependent on the “Champagne houses”

5. A Blockchain for Champagne?
1883
• First great counterfeiting scandals begin
• Sparkling wine makers begin falsely labeling
their product
• Champagne houses begin illegally importing
cheap grapes to keep up with demand

6. A Blockchain for Champagne?
1911
• Series of bad crops in
Champagne
• Riots break out, wine destroyed,
houses burned
• Huge amounts of illegally
imported wine was dumped into
the Marne river
The Champagne Riots

7. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Regulators Step In
• Pinot noir
• Chardonnay
• Pinot meunier
French government created the rules
that govern the Champagne name:
Grapes must be grown in the
Champagne region of France

8. A Blockchain for Champagne?
What’s the
Difference?

9. A Blockchain for Champagne?
The
Price
$30 $12

10. A Blockchain for Champagne?
And that makes
fraud a real problem

11. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Counterfeiting
• Every year, millions of dollars of
bottles falsely labelled as champagne
• Authorities are able to seize some of
those bottles
• Most slip into the market unnoticed

12. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Seizure
• In 2016, Italian police seized 9,200
bottles of falsely labelled champagne
• 40,000 additional labels were found
• Each label increases the value of the
bottle by $36

13. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Current “Solution”
• Hire lobbyists in every major importing country
• Full time staff of 100
• Investigate possible counterfeiters and sic the
authorities on them

14. A Blockchain for Champagne?
• Extremely expensive
• Slow
• Ridiculously Ineffective
Current “Solution”

15. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Enter Blockchain
• Every authentic bottle marked
• Sale or movement of marked bottles writes to the
blockchain

16. A Blockchain for Champagne?
We could prove when a
bottle is authentic

17. A Blockchain for Champagne?
But…?
Couldn’t somebody just put any random wine inside
the authentic bottles?

18. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Deeper proof
What if the grapes themselves were
also on the blockchain?

19. A Blockchain for Champagne?
How?
•On-vineyard data collection using IoT devices
•Write all “metadata” about that crop to the blockchain

20. A Blockchain for Champagne?
A Story in
Every Bottle

21. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Cheap
Sensors
Exist Today

22. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Not Just Champagne
• Black truffles
• Parmigiano reggiano
• Alaskan salmon
• USDA Certified Organic
• Louis Vuitton bags
• Diamonds

23. A Blockchain for Champagne?
Learn more at
verypossible.com/blockchain