Barcodes on Bottles
The majority of wine bottles carry a barcode symbol on their label.
It is there to assist retailers manage their inventory and speed up the
sale process by scanning bottles at the check-out. This same barcode can
be of great value in wine cellar management.
The bottle barcodes, known as UPC or EAN barcodes represent nothing
more than a sequence of numbers made up of the country of origin, the
producing company and a number chosen by the winery to represent the wine.
The number and the barcode symbol do not mean anything more descriptive;
to make use of this barcode, there has to be a database purchased or
created to look up the meaning of each barcode.
Due to the vast number of wines available and the constant introduction of
new wines, there is no single, fully comprehensive barcode database.
Some wine cellar software programs have a built in barcode database,
but often the wine you have purchased is not yet displayed.
Generally you initiate your
barcode data infomation by scanning the barcode on the first bottle and entering
the wine data. All subsequent bottles will be speedily entered by
scanning a label and entering the vintage, to have all data fields populated.
Entering the vintage is necessary because most wineries fail to
make a distinction between vintages within each barcode.
Because there are still a large number of wines sold without a barcode
and different vintages are not recognized within the barcode, bottle
barcodes are inadequate for accurate stock management in the cellar.
For this reason a second barcode carried on a bottle tag makes the most
of the use of a barcode scanner and assures complete accuracy of your inventory.
Barcodes on Tags
Vinoté numbered tags (Neck Tags and Self Adhesive Wrap Tags) are
pre-printed. Each tag carries a unique number and a barcode replicating that number.
Vinoté Printable tags Neck Tags are designed to be printed by you.
Each tag is printed with information about the wine, as well as a unique
number and replication of that number in a barcode.
The philosophy is that each bottle is
individually identified by this unique number and the barcode on the tag ensures
speed and accuracy.
The initial use of the scanner is to scan the wine bottle barcode,
speeding up data entry of new wines entering your cellar.
Once the wine is entered in the database and a numbered tag applied, the
bottles can be placed randomly within your cellar.
The printed seven digit number, of the Vinoté tags, and in particular
the last three digits, are easily read in the dim light of a cellar.
Using your wine cellar software to select a wine, you find it
by seeking the unique number or reading the printed tag. As you open
the bottle, you put the tag in a safe place. Later you take the tags, representing opened bottles,
to your computer and using the barcode scanner, quickly remove all the
wines you have enjoyed. In this way your inventory is soberly maintained
without intruding on your enjoyment of the wine.
In cellars where numbered tags are not used, research shows a 95%
failure of inventory control, despite the initial good intentions. The
inevitable problem occurs when, through the lack of a suitable tag, an
opened wine is not recorded. This small oversight quickly leads to
inventory breakdown and once this occurs, reversion back to the lucky
dip process of wine selection, takes place and the inventory becomes obsolete.
Read more about how the Vinoté system works.
Read the White Paper on Uniquely numbered tags.
Read more about placing your wines and getting the most from your tags.
Your Barcode Scanner
Barcode Scanners plug in to your USB port. There is no software required,
you simply plug in your scanner and, with any program that can accept a
keyboard entry running, you scan a barcode. The resulting number will be
displayed on the screen. The scanner is simply sending a signal identical
to a signal sent from keys on your keyboard.
To purchase your Barcode Scanner.
Got a question? Email James 
