Ann Colgin, the owner of Colgin Cellars, has decided to protect her super premium vintages with the latest in pharmaceutical security. Colgin has licensed Kodak's Traceless system to provide a secure anti-counterfeiting method for the ultra exclusive $250-$500 bottles that the winery releases, and to protect buyers on the secondary market from losing their shirts. The exact details of the science behind this implementation are a closely guarded trade secret, but we know that the system uses a synthesized chemical (or biological) marker in powered form. The marker is odorless, colorless, and supposedly impossible to detect without advance knowledge of the scan pattern. Kodak retains ownership of all handheld scanners and issues only to those persons with a verified need that can pass a stringent background check.

The marker can be placed directly into the inks and pigments used to print a wine label, added during production of the papers used, or synthetic corks used to close the bottles. Right now Traceless is only a packaging solution, but Kodak's future plans for the technology include adding the markers directly to consumable liquids and pharmaceuticals.

I've personally seen older vintages of Colgin bottlings going for close to $1,000, and it's not surprising that systems like Traceless are finally being recognized for the value that they provide the consumer. Counterfeit drugs and beverages are a big illicit business these days. Have you gotten spam advertising cheap drugs? The majority of the medical products sold via bulk direct mailing are counterfeits, and "It might kill you" is a great reason not to buy anything from unsolicited email.