30 PENCE FOR A BOTTLE OF CHÂTEAU LAFITE 2004: ONLINE LOW BID WINE AUCTIONS (OR BETS?) ON THE UNIQUEWINEAUCTIONS.COM UK WEBSITE. SUCCESS OF A PHENOMENON THAT GOES BEYOND NUMBERS AND CONFIRMS GREAT WINES ARE OBJECTS OF DESIRE

30 pence for a bottle of Château Lafite 2004, estimated value 900 pounds, 16 pence for a Chateau Haut Brion 1999 (425 pounds on the market) or 6 pence for a Château Margaux 2006: these prices are not on a “magic price list” that all wine lovers dream about, but they are some of the prices that collectors bid on the www.uniquewineauctions.com site, launched earlier this year in England by IOM Wine Traders and thanks to these great wines is enjoying enormous success.
It works like a lowest bid wins auction, which are more like lotteries than real auctions: you pay a ticket to place a bid in the price range indicated starting at 1 penny and up to the price of the bottle, and the lowest bid wins. Of course, there are not only great wines, explained Andrew Cullimore to Decanter: “It’s an almost unexpected success that drives us to continue to offer other great wines, when possible, but we are happy to also offer less prestigious wines, like Riojas or Pinot Blacks of New Zealand. Nevertheless, the participation triggered by names like Château Lynch Bages and Château Duhart Milon is unique. I’m sure this enthusiasm will entice more and more people”.
To date, there are 190 “lowest offer bidders” on the U.K. website from 20 countries around the world, who are demanding more and more auctions. Naturally, the idea came from England, the par excellence home of betting on anything. But in Italy, where “lowest bid auctions” especially in technology, have been very successful, would it be possible? We asked Raimondo Romani, head of Gelardini & Romani, the first Italian auction house specializing in great wines: “we certainly can also develop a mechanism like this, which obviously would not replace the classic auction channels. The most important thing is that an experience like this confirms the value of great wines as objects of desire, which you are also willing to bet on to possess. They have not only an intangible value or just the pleasure of drinking them, but also a monetary value”.