The 2022 edition of Barolo en Primeur raised 769,800 euro for solidarity projects, a new record for the event with nearly 170,000 euro raised more than last year
Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy 2 November 2022: Five of the Twenty-four lots were awarded to bidders from New York and Hong Kong. On 13 November, the last lot of Barolo will be auctioned off at the International White Truffle Fair of Alba auction, most certainly bringing the final total to over €800,000.
Barolo en primeur announces a successful second edition of the great solidarity competition promoted and organised by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo, Fondazione CRC Donare ETS in collaboration with the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, which took place on Friday 28 October at Grinzane Cavour Castle. The event raised € 769,800 donated by generous philanthropists present in the hall and in livestreaming from New York and Hong Kong. The 14 successful bidders have been “awarded” with 14 barriques of Barolo from the 2021 vintage, from the Gustava Vineyard owned by the CRC Foundation, located on the slopes of Grinzane Cavour Castle. From each barrique they will obtain – at the end of the compulsory ageing period scheduled for 2025 – 300 unique bottles, marked with a numbered label, created for the occasion by the international artist Michelangelo Pistoletto. In addition, another 10 bidders won more than 1,200 bottles of the fine wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, subdivided into 10 lots on the basis of the municipality of production, which 70 producers made available free of charge for the auction with fundraising benefiting the Alba Wine School.
The result of the solidarity auction, hammered by Christie’s Italy Director Cristiano De Lorenzo, increased by almost €170,000 compared to the more than €600,000 of the October 2021 event (completed with €60,000 of the fifteenth lot hammered at the auction of the International White Truffle Fair of Alba in November 2021). The proceeds will go entirely to non-profit projects. Of the 24 lots in the auction, 5 lots were awarded to participants in live streaming from New York and Hong Kong. The record bid was for lot number 23, sold for 45,000 euro, and for the special 500-litre lot – equivalent to about 660 bottles of wine, added at the end of the auction by CRC Foundation President Ezio Raviola – sold for the extraordinary sum of 175,000 euro. While the producers’ communal lots were awarded for figures that almost doubled the auction bases.
Barolo en Primeur is vinified by Donato Lanati’s ENOSIS Meraviglia, one of the top international experts in the field, and is judged by wine critic and Vinous CEO Antonio Galloni, who awarded a range of average scores from 92 to 94 and coined the NFT (Non-Fungible Token), a digital certificate of authenticity guaranteed via blockchain, which will be attached to each bottle.
“The edition of Barolo en primeur that has just ended is confirmed to be of the highest level and gives us great satisfaction – comments Ezio Raviola, President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo. The participation of both Italian and foreign philanthropists is growing, the roots in the territory are growing, the number of projects supported is growing, and the proceeds for social purposes are increasing. A more than positive sign that encourages us to continue in the direction we have set out. The challenge, now, is projected into the future to broaden the audience of donor-buyers and support, with the next edition, an increasing number of non-profit organisations”.
“The great participation of investors interested in “fine wines” – adds Matteo Ascheri, President of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani – is an exceptional result, which represents a solid base from which to start for an ever-greater involvement of Barolo and Barbaresco producers in the development of this project, which is only in its second year. And it is also a sign that the “preview” sales model can and must be a valuable prospect for Barolo and Barbaresco, wines that are known and appreciated all over the world, which will thus be able to pave the way and preside over the “en primeur” market, which is still underdeveloped in Italy”.
Bidding for Barolo en primeur will close on Sunday, 13 November during the International White Truffle Fair of Alba auction, again from the Grinzane Cavour Castle and in live streaming with Hong Kong: the fifteenth and last barrique of the Vigna Gustava will be auctioned, and the amount raised will be donated to the international charity Mother’s Choice, which has been working since 1987 in favour of orphaned children and young mothers in difficulty.
The 2022 beneficiaries
Of the 14 barriques auctioned, 7 are already associated with a beneficiary, while the subscribers who won the other 7 barriques will decide to whom the funds will be allocated. In particular, Barolo en primeur has chosen to support the following projects: the promotion and recovery of knowledge and the landscape of the Alta Langa, the so-called “Banca del Fare”, promoted by Fondazione Matrice ETS; the “Nega-so” project, with the aim of working on migratory flows and encouraging integration, promoted by Cooperativa sociale Liberitutti; the project for the restoration and enhancement of the historic cellar of Villa Arconati, promoted by Fondazione Augusto Rancilio; the ‘L’energia dell’arte, tra natura, scienza e tecnologia’ project, an approach to contemporary art and sustainability, promoted by the Castello di Rivoli – Museo di Arte Contemporanea; the ‘CivicAttiva’ project, which proposes active citizenship paths to schools to stimulate young people towards change and sustainability, promoted by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation; the ‘New Forms of Life’ project to educate children between 5 and 12 years of age in cultural heritage, promoted by the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation; and finally the ‘Neighbourhood Schools – RELOADED’ project, which supports pupils with social and behavioural difficulties with innovative pedagogical methodologies, promoted by the LUNETICA social cooperative.
A project by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo and Fondazione CRC Donare ETS, in collaboration with the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani.
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