Wisconsin Winery launches first NFT-labeled wine
A Wisconsin winery has ventured into the world of crypto and has released the very first NFT-branded wine.
The Blind Horse Winery, partnered with VaporFi to release a collector’s edition 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon with an NFT label from The Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of non-fungible tokens, starting in Spring 2021. This particular Bored Ape was purchased in 2022 by VaporFi and licensed to The Blind Horse Winery for this exclusive one-off release.
“Personally, I’m a crypto and wine enthusiast,” says Tom Nye, master winemaker and general manager of the Kohler, WI-based winery. “It’s truly a product designed for crypto and wine enthusiasts, and for me it’s the centerpiece of my collection.”
The wine, which is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon but also contains some Malbec and Petite Verdot, was aged for three years in French and American oak barrels, and sells for $100.
“We’re joining off-chain and on-chain businesses in a collaboration that just isn’t and hasn’t been done before,” says Nye. “It’s pushing boundaries, and for me, I want people to look at the bottle and say, ‘What the hell is this?'”
Only about 200 bottles of the special release remain, and it can be shipped to 38 states. “When it’s gone, it’s gone,” Nye says.
Nye says the partnership began last year in March when he connected with the VaporFi management team for an opportunity to release an NFT-branded wine. The teams immediately began collaborating on the first project of its kind, he says, adding that they both sought to break down barriers between a cryptocurrency company and a traditional off-chain company.
“If you’re into cryptocurrency, you know the importance of Bored Apes, and you know that it really started the non-fungible token craze,” Nye says. “This particular Bored Ape on our bottle is the most famous of all Bored Apes.”
The wine, says Nye, had to be a Cabernet Sauvignon. “This is our best cab from our best vineyard in California, and what makes it extra special is this link to crypto, the fusion of crypto with an off-chain business and being the first of its kind,” Nye says. “It’s a great conversation piece if you love wine and if you love crypto.”
Nye recommends buying two bottles – buy one to age and put out, but also buy another to drink with family and friends. “For me personally, I never want to have this great bottle of wine that I’m afraid to open,” he says. “Wine is really beautiful in itself, but what really makes it even better is everything else that goes with it, which is food and friends and family.”
Nye says this isn’t the first time The Blind Horse Winery has been the first in the world to do something. “The restaurant (attached to the winery) was the first restaurant in the world to install real-time covid-killing lights,” Nye says. “We’re not afraid to take risks or do something different, and for us, it’s paying off.”
Nye says he and his team haven’t figured out what risk they’re going to take next. “Risk-taking has become part of our ethos,” he says. “I don’t know what the next idea will be.”
Follow me on Twitter. check out my website.
