GrtWines, a Web3 wine marketplace for enthusiasts and investors, has combined the historic hobby of collecting wine with the modern era of tokenization.
Launched in January, the marketplace allows people to collect, trade and store fine wines with asset-backed tokens, looking to establish itself in a market worth approximately $44bn, with a new concept.
Jonathan Slone, CEO and Co-founder at GrtWines, said, “As a wine connoisseur, I’m passionate about GrtWines in preserving the rich heritage whilst building a transparent and connected community that is driven by the consumers.”
GRTWines’ tokens are tied to tangible, investment-grade wines, which can be redeemed or traded on GrtWines’ marketplace, providing investors and wine collectors with the benefits of flexibility, transparency and liquidity while ensuring the stability and long-term value of fine wines.
Through this peer-to-peer blockchain platform, users are able to access and trade fine wines, alleviating the limitations and restrictions of traditional auction markets and eliminating intermediaries’ involvement.
Up to the moment of physical delivery, NFTs are redeemable for specific bottles and also provide customers with a unique GrtWines digital art representation of the underlying wine.
The company stores and sources all wine from renowned wineries and trusted partners such as CVBG, an iconic Bordeaux negociant, to ensure the products are kept in optimal conditions before being redeemed.
GrtWines is backed by internationally acclaimed wine critic James Suckling, wine veteran Mathieu Chadronnier, and led by CLSA’s former Chairman Slone, blockchain expert Victor Yin and entrepreneur Meaghan Becker.
Slone added: “Traditional alternative assets such as well-aged wines, fine art and luxury watches have gained significant traction among younger buyers, serving as both portfolio diversification and elevated lifestyle.”
To entice customers the company releases new collections. Currently, its website showcases ‘The Jefferson Collection’, in which the company has written “This collection brings to life the historical preferences of Jefferson through a meticulously curated selection of Bordeaux wines”.
The firm’s plans come as the UK government aims to widen its scope of NFT regulation, proposing that digital asset firms in the country that issue NFTs to fall under a new set of regulatory guidelines.
NFTs saw a surge in ownership and popularity in 2021 and 2022 and although this seems to have cooled off, the potential of blockchain technology and tokenisation for commercial purposes is still an area of interest for many companies.
Slone concluded: “We believe this experience should be accessible for all, and by pairing fine wines with tokenization, our platform will revolutionise this archaic industry and drive wine appreciation in the long run.”
