From the rolling hills of Tuscany to the sun-kissed vineyards of Sicily, Italy boasts an unrivalled passion for winemaking that has captivated connoisseurs for centuries.
The Mediterranean country is one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world, however, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that Italian wines began to gain international recognition and acclaim. This was largely due to the innovative techniques and modernisation implemented by Italian winemakers, who saw the potential for their wines to compete on a global scale. Today, Italian wines are renowned for their quality, variety, and unique flavours that continue to push boundaries and captivate wine enthusiasts worldwide.
Innovation and technology have played a crucial role in shaping the Italian wine industry, from the vineyards to the bottle. In recent years, advancements in viticulture and winemaking techniques have allowed for more precise and sustainable practices, resulting in higher quality wines. Precision farming, for example, uses technology such as satellite imagery and drones to monitor and manage vineyards, ensuring that grapes are grown in the optimal conditions. This not only improves the quality of the grapes but also reduces the use of pesticides and water. Similarly, advancements in winemaking equipment and techniques have allowed for more precise control over the fermentation process, resulting in better-tasting wines.
Additionally, technology has also greatly impacted the marketing and distribution of Italian wines. With the rise of e-commerce and social media, wineries can now reach a larger audience and promote their products globally. Online platforms also make it easier for consumers to learn about and purchase Italian wines, further expanding the reach of the industry and introducing customers and investors alike to the possibilities of enjoying and also using fine wines as an investment.
One such platform that builds upon this innovation is Italian start-up Cantinium. With the goal of making Italian fine wines appreciated at the peak of their maturity, Cantinium aims to guide customers to the discovery of rare and valuable products, in order to offer new purchasing and bottle storage experiences. How do they achieve this? With the creation of NFTs (non-fungible tokens – a unique digital identifier that’s used to certify ownership and authenticity which is recorded on a blockchain and cannot be copied) based on the best Italian wines, certifying and guaranteeing the supply chain from producer to consumer.
The innovative Italian start-up, founded in 2021 thanks to the shared passion and experience of Giuseppe Scampa, Emanuel Scampa, and Mirko Marino, joined by world-renowned oenology expert Christian Roger, launched its revolutionary platform with a goal of making great Italian fine red and white wines appreciated at the peak of their maturity. It‘s dedicated to the preservation and tracking of great Italian wines and aims to guide customers to the discovery of rare and valuable products, offering new purchasing and bottle storage experiences with the help of their platform.
It selects bottles of excellence from the best Italian producers that have great aging potential and need to be waited for to express their best organoleptic abilities and attests to their authenticity by purchasing exclusively from the producers. It guarantees the preservation of quality over time by storing the bottles in a cellar where it regulates and monitors temperature, humidity, and light through IoT (Internet of Things) technologies, making them available and accessible to customers.
The company records data on the Polygon blockchain to make them verifiable and incontrovertible, creating NFTs linked to individual bottles, which also determine the certificate of ownership. In this way, the traceability of the bottles is achieved by recording their history once they leave the producers’ cellars, creating a new sales channel through NFTs.
Precious bottles are perishable goods that must be kept in optimal conditions to reach their full potential and are increasingly subject to counterfeiting. Their value increases when there is certainty of their authenticity and proper conservation over time and so Cantinium sets the goal of purchasing great Italian wines directly from the producer and preserving the bottles in an optimal environment to enable consumers to appreciate them at the peak of their potential, eliminating problems related to premature opening of bottles, inadequate storage, and lack of traceability on the grey market and offering a secure and assured journey from producer to consumer.
“Our philosophy is that great wines, like great works of art, need time to reach their fullest expression,” explains Giuseppe Scampa, administrator and co-founder of Cantinium. “This process cannot be rushed. Similarly, the preservation of bottles plays a crucial role in this process. Inadequate storage can alter the quality of the wine and prevent its optimal evolution. At Cantinium, we are committed to ensuring that every bottle of wine is stored in the most ideal conditions, thus allowing the wine to evolve and mature as it should.”
“Our solution guarantees consumers the ability to purchase high-quality wines, knowing that they have been properly aged and preserved. Each bottle has a traceable history, from the producer’s cellar to delivery to the consumer’s home,” emphasises Emanuel Scampa, co-founder of Cantinium.
For further information, visit cantinium.com.
