Barolo en Primeur returns – the first and only project in Italy that weaves one of the great ambassadors of Made in Italy, Barolo, together with the values of solidarity, territory, art, and social finance.
A Solidarity Auction with Christie’s
It is an international solidarity auction of a ‘fine wine’ – prestige, collectible and investment wine – that aims to finance 15 projects of social interest, each paired with one of the 15 barriques being auctioned at Christie’s, destined to be transformed, in four years, each into 300 bottles of fine Barolo from the 2021 vintage.
Barolo en Primeur is a project initiated and promoted by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo (celebrating 30 years this year) in collaboration with the Fondazione CRC Donare and with the support of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani.
This year, after raising 660,000 euros donated to 17 charitable causes in the first edition, Barolo en Primeur is growing with new goals and teaming up with Barolo producers to expand the result of the solidarity auction.
Barolo en Primeur was born as a result of the harvest featuring the historic Gustava Vineyard, formerly owned and vinified by Count Camillo Benso and now owned by the CRC Foundation, which surrounds Grinzane Cavour Castle, one of the most symbolic landmarks of the Langhe.
New York & Hong Kong
As with the first edition, the appointment with the solidarity auction is twofold: on Friday, October 28th at the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, 14 barriques from the 2021 vintage will be auctioned by Christie’s, at the same time as New York, which will be awarded to those who would like to support one of the 2022 solidarity projects already part of the project, or to those who would like to choose a ‘good cause’ of their interest.
The fifteenth barrel, on the other hand, will be hammered out during the World White Truffle of Alba Auction, again from the Grinzane Cavour Castle and in live streaming with Hong Kong: this time the proceeds will be donated to the international charity “Mother’s Choice,” which has been working since 1987 in favor of orphaned children and young women in need. Vinous wine critic and CEO Antonio Galloni gave the barrels from the 2021 vintage of the Gustava vineyard an average score ranging from 92 to 94; this is a range, as it is a wine still in mandatory aging.
Barolo & Barbaresco: the heroes of the land
New for the 2022 edition is the participation in the Solidarity Auction also of more than 70 producers of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, who will donate 1,200 bottles to the solidarity project. The participating wineries, united under the name of the production municipality, will add to the auction 10 communal lots composed of their most̀ valuable bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco, also from the 2021 vintage.
As such, the Barolo en Primeur project is made accessible to a wider audience of donors: the auction base for the municipal lots ranges from 2 thousand euros for the Treiso and Alba Municipalities’ lot composed of 36 0.75-liter bottles and 6 3-liter Jeroboams, to 18 thousand euros for the Barolo Municipality’s lot composed of 192 0.75-liter bottles, 37 1.5-liter Magnums and 7 3-liter Jeroboams. The proceeds from the municipal lots will be donated to the Alba School of Enology, which has always used the Gustava vineyard for the field training of students, the new levers of Italian enology.
“With the 2022 edition of Barolo en primeur, the CRC Foundation reaffirms its sensitivity in the social sphere and supports the wine sector, one of the strategic assets of the province of Cuneo. A happy intuition has created a unique combination where socially useful projects meet our territory through one of its best-known products, Barolo. Added to this is the collaboration of an artist like Michelangelo Pistoletto, who will embellish the bottles with original labels. – explains Ezio Raviola, president of Fondazione CRC – Building on the important results of the first edition, we have worked to confirm Barolo en Primeur as a prestigious event, capable of involving an increasing number of philanthropists, collectors, investors and connoisseurs of our fine wine.”
“The enthusiasm of the more than 70 wineries that have joined the initiative,” comments Matteo Ascheri, president of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, “confirms that we are on the right track, that is, the participation of the entire ‘Barolo and Barbaresco System’ in an innovative project that, thanks to the reputation of Barolo and Barbaresco at the national and international level, ensures significant resources for projects of collective interest, while entering the fine wine sector in a structured way.”