BAROLO EN PRIMEUR RETURNS ON OCTOBER 25, THE INTERNATIONAL CHARITY EVENT THAT HAS RAISED €2.377 MILLION IN THREE YEARS
The Fourth edition at Grinzane Cavour Castle with live connection to London and New York and streaming online. Up for auction are 24 lots, featuring 15 barriques and 1,229 bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco. The fifteenth barrique will be auctioned at the Alba White Truffle International Auction, live from Hong Kong.
The Consorzio Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero, with exclusive tastings, opens the doors of 41 wineries for en primeur tastings. Susan Philipsz designs the artist label.
On Friday, October 25th, Barolo and Barbaresco will be paired with charitable projects: Barolo en primeur returns with the fourth edition of the international solidarity auction. This year, 15 barriques of Barolo and 1,229 bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco, donated by over 80 producers from the Consortium, will be auctioned to support charitable initiatives in Italy and abroad.
Under the gavel of Christie’s Italy director Cristiano De Lorenzo, the auction will take place at Grinzane Cavour Castle and will be streamed live to New York and London, from where American and British bids will be received. Open to anyone who registers, bids can also be placed online starting October 2 on the website https://theauctioncollective.com/auctions/barolo-en-primeur-2024/. The fifteenth barrique will be auctioned on Sunday, November 10, during the Alba White Truffle International Auction, live from Hong Kong.
Launched in 2021, the initiative is organized by the Cassa Risparmio di Cuneo Foundationwith the CRC Donare ETS Foundation and the Consorzio Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero. In the first three editions, it raised over €2.37 million, with each year surpassing the last: €666,000 in 2021, €834,000 in 2022, and €877,000 in 2023. These funds have supported the development of 55 social projects in Italy and abroad, making it a unique example of solidarity in Italy. Among the beneficiaries are hospitals, art foundations, social cooperatives, organizations supporting women in need, integration projects, restoration of artworks and historic buildings, and more. For the third year, proceeds from municipal lots will fund the Alba Oenological School and other local organizations, thus promoting the future of new generations and the territory.
This social finance project combines charity with investment: the barriques associated with the charity lots are the result of the work of renowned oenologist Donato Lanati, who vinified them separately to give each one a unique personality, derived from the parceling of the vineyard based on exposure, altitude, and vine age. After the required minimum aging of 38 months from November 1 of the harvest year, as specified by the Consortium’s production regulations, each barrique will yield 270 bottles of Barolo to be consumed, collected, listed on a restaurant’s wine menu, or sold on the secondary market. This Barolo is closely tied to the location of the auction, Grinzane Castle, as the nebbiolo from Vigna Gustava, located at its foot, will, after proper aging, become Barolo Gustava.
“Barolo en primeur is a key vehicle for promoting our territory and its many excellences,” said Mauro Gola, President of the CRC Foundation. “It is a unique initiative in the national landscape that, thanks to Barolo from Vigna Gustava and the ever-stronger collaboration with the territory and producers, combines charity and valorization.”
“When we launched Barolo en primeur in 2021, we knew it was a gamble, as there was no similar event in Italy,” said Giuliano Viglione, President of Donare ETS Foundation. “After three years, we can say we won that bet: the €2.3 million raised for 55 projects proves it, and it encourages us to continue on this path, with the strong support of the community and the broad participation of donors, which we expect to grow even more this year.”
The Municipal Lots
Along with the barriques, the 10 municipal lots are another highlight of Barolo en primeur: more than 80 Consortium wineries, including some of the most renowned in the area, have chosen to donate 1,229 bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco, divided into 938 standard bottles, 243 magnums, and 48 double magnums, totaling 1,212 liters. Donations are grouped into lots named after the contributing municipality, each with a different starting bid based on the quantities and wines offered.
During the auction week, the Consortium will also offer a unique experience: from Saturday, October 19, to Friday, October 25, it will open the doors of 41 wineries for “Barolo en primeur exclusive tastings,” an event reserved for small groups of wine lovers, allowing them to taste en primeur the 2023 vintage wines and thus be prepared for the auction on October 25. This is a full-fledged experience, offering the chance to personally discover some of the world’s most renowned wineries and immerse oneself in the unique atmosphere of the Langhe in October, shortly after the harvest, in the midst of the vintage work and autumn foliage.
https://www.fieradeltartufo.org/barolo-en-primeur-exclusive-tasting/
“Having 80 Consortium wineries join Barolo en primeur is an extraordinary result that shows the teamwork spirit we want to carry forward,” said Sergio Germano, president of the Consortium. “The municipal lots represent significant added value, as they carry the recognition of some globally famous brands, while also strengthening others that deserve more attention. Additionally, naming the lots after the 12 contributing municipalities further deepens the auction’s connection to the Langhe: Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, Barolo, La Morra, Grinzane Cavour, Castiglione Falletto, Barbaresco, Novello, Verduno, Treiso, Alba, and Neive are the places where we all live and work. Having these names resonate in an international event also helps introduce the value of our differences to the world.”
Susan Philipsz designs the artist label with “Broken Token”
The Barolo en primeur labels are signed each year by a renowned artist, adding artistic value and uniqueness to the auctioned bottles. This year, Susan Philipsz created the artist label with her artwork “Broken Token.” The subject of the piece is a token broken in half, referencing the Anglo-Saxon tradition where mothers who left their children in orphanages would hide one half of a token with the child and keep the other, so they could later be reunited.
Born in Glasgow in 1965, Susan Philipsz won the Turner Prize in 2010 and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2014 for her contribution to art. Since the mid-1990s, her works have been exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide. Her sound installations, which have codified sound as an invisible sculpture, are especially famous.