Project funded through the “Innovative Business Clusters 2022” call of the Spanish State Research Agency (Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism) and the European Union NextGenerationEU / PRTR.
LOCALVINO is a research project carried out during 2022 by a consortium of companies, research centres and official bodies from different regions of Spain. The project focused on studying the applicability of blockchain technology in the grape production and wine-making value chain, with the aim of preventing potential food fraud that may occur throughout the process.
During the project, research focused mainly on grape production processes and origin control, as well as the production of must. Key points for implementing an effective control system were identified, along with the weaknesses present in current control mechanisms across various Spanish wine-growing regions.
With all this groundwork, a proof of concept was developed to validate the capacity of blockchain technology to certify data along the value chain. The results were highly satisfactory, leading to the design of this second phase, centred on two main objectives:
Conduct an in-depth study of wine-making processes.
Research the certification processes carried out by official bodies, and assess how blockchain can be applied to wine certification.
This second phase of LOCALVINO focuses on analysing the feasibility of using blockchain in the relationship between wineries and certification bodies. Specifically, the goal is to determine the ability of blockchain to automate the certification of wine products based on the general regulations set by the European Union and the specific requirements of each Designation of Origin.
Designations of Origin (DOs) in the wine sector exist to recognise and protect the quality of wines from specific geographical areas. This quality is linked to several aspects of wine production:
natural factors such as soil, climate and grape variety,
and human factors such as the expertise and techniques of viticulturists, oenologists and other professionals.
The main function of DO management bodies (regulatory councils) is to control production from the moment grapes enter the winery to the final labelling of the wine.
Certification of DO requirements is carried out through annual audits conducted by entities accredited by ENAC (the Spanish National Accreditation Body). These audits may be performed either by the DO itself—if accredited—or by independent companies accredited for this purpose.
In any case, the aim of LOCALVINO Phase 2 is to provide certification agents with reliable digital traceability tools to make these checks more effective and efficient, strengthening the traceability of every process subject to verification and improving the efficiency of audits themselves.
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