News
2011. July 15. Friday
Wine code after barcode
Although we might sometimes long for the peacefulness of a hermit’s life, let’s be honest to ourselves, nowadays we could not exist without mobile phones, let’s go further, without smartphones with internet connection.
You can find these signs with this strange black and white pattern more and more places (for instance on the packaging of products) that send useful information to your mobile phone in a few seconds. Although these two-dimensional codes - matrix barcodes, QR codes – slowly seep into our lives, Hungarian wineries have not used the potential lying behind yet.
We ‘stole’ the idea from Matt Kramer, an American journalist, took his advice*, and entered the 21st century! From now on, you can find these QR codes on the back label of Vylyan wines, which will help you learn everything about the content of the bottle. Thank God, however, that no IT innovation can replace wine tasting, and we do hope it stays like this in the future! :)
A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL, or other data. Common in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. The QR code was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. The technology has seen frequent use in Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea, while the rest of the world has been slower in the adoption of QR codes.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Our first wine is Portugieser (Cat) 2010 that debuts with the QR-code. Using a camera phone with internet connection, you can “read” information stored in the matrix barcode. Pointing your smartphone on the QR, you are immediately directed to the website of Vylyan winery, where you can learn about the time of harvest, about the wine-making procedures and also you can access tasting notes by downloading the wine-info sheets (PDF).
In the future we are planning to use more extensive and diverse application for mobile phones!
*
On the Hungarian wine blog, Művelt Alkoholista, the blogger, Alföldi Merlot, often translates the writings of Matt Kramer. We found this great idea* in one of his articles. For the original article of Kramer’s, published on Winespectator.com, click here!
