With limited production of world class pinot noirs, the Kosta Browne Winery has a loyal following of connoisseurs – on their mailing list and at auction. Its coveted Pinots could also be the target of counterfeiters, so the premium Sonoma County, California winery is taking preemptive action. Kosta Browne is implementing Kodak’s Traceless system for anticounterfeiting to protect its valuable vintages and its customers.<BR>
With limited production of world class pinot noirs, the Kosta Browne Winery has a loyal following of connoisseurs – on their mailing list and at auction. Its coveted Pinots could also be the target of counterfeiters, so the premium Sonoma County, California winery is taking preemptive action. Kosta Browne is implementing Kodak’s Traceless system for anticounterfeiting to protect its valuable vintages and its customers.
“Kosta Browne wines are highly valued at auctions around the country due to high demand and limited availability,” said Chris Costello, Proprietor and Managing Partner of the Kosta Browne winery. “The problem of counterfeiting has become more common, especially with wines sold at auction. With the Kodak Traceless system, we are doing everything we can to ensure that each bottle with the Kosta Browne name on it is authentic, protecting the quality and integrity of our brand and our customers’ investment.”
With counterfeit wines estimated to account for as much as five percent of the secondary market according to Wine Spectator magazine, vintners need new technologies that allow them to easily validate the authenticity of their products. Kodak’s Traceless is an ultra covert technology using forensically invisible markers that can be added to printing inks, paper or other packaging elements during the manufacturing process. These markers are detectible using only Kodak’s Traceless pen readers, which are available to wineries such as Kosta Browne. This allows quick and effective protection strategies that assure long term security of the product and the brand.
Kodak and Kosta Browne Winery worked closely with premier label printer Tapp Technologies of Napa, Calif., to develop an authentication solution that could be applied invisibly to the Kosta Browne packaging without adding steps or costs to production. “The Traceless system surpasses any other anticounterfeiting solution currently available because of its ease of use,” said Bill Knopka, Vice President and General Manager, Tapp Technologies. “We simply incorporate Kodak’s technology into our labels to give wine producers an easy to implement, cost effective and long lasting solution for protecting their products. The Traceless system is very versatile and has no effect on the characteristics of the end products or the packaging. This is very important to our wine customers who don’t want to mar their unique, high design branded labels.”
Kosta Browne joins a unique list of wine producers that have implemented the Traceless system to ensure the authenticity of their prized bottles, including Colgin Cellars, Herb Lamb Vineyards, Vineyard 29 and Staglin Family Vineyards. Tapp Technologies and Kodak are making a presentation at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California from 27 to 30 January.
“Even if a producer or manufacturer hasn’t dealt first hand with a crisis caused by counterfeiting, its proliferation affects their ability to do business,” said Robert Taylor, General Manager, Security Solutions, Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. “Consumer confidence is eroded each time a story about fake goods is published. More and more brand owners are recognizing that counterfeiting is a worldwide problem that needs to be immediately addressed by every business, in every market. The Kodak Traceless system makes it easy for wineries to protect their products from the scourge of counterfeiting and ensure their customers of the authenticity of their high value investments.”
About Kosta Browne Winery
Kosta Browne began as a dream shared by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne. In 1997, Dan and Michael decided to venture into winemaking. They saved tip money for two months and eventually had enough to buy a half ton of Pinot Noir, a used barrel and an old hand-crank stemmer-crusher, a purchase that marks the beginning of Kosta Browne. Since that vintage, they have nurtured relationships with the best growers and honed their winemaking skills, making sure to focus on the vision and values with which they began.
In 2001, Dan and Michael partnered with Chris Costello and his family, who collectively provided the business experience and relationships that gave Kosta Browne the necessary resources to grow. Chris was able to craft a business plan that conveyed the appeal of the Kosta Browne story and sensibly described its future, helping to convince many wary family members and friends that investing in the vision would be worth it.
Today, Dan, Michael and Chris work very closely to maintain the quality and consistency of the entire Kosta Browne experience.
About Tapp Technologies
Established in 1992, Tapp Technologies is one of the world’s leading pressure sensitive label printers, utilizing three printing platforms; high quality waterless offset, flexography and digital offset. Over the years, Tapp has received many international and national awards for its printing excellence.
