Art, food, solidarity and music against eating disorders, with Cotarella Foundation

Talking about “wine and health” does not only mean disserting on the direct effects of consuming the nectar of Bacchus. But it also means highlighting the projects that the virtuous wineries of Italy put in place, in support of research on many aspects concerning the vast and complex topic of health. And among these is the Cotarella Foundation, established in 2021 at the behest of the Cotarella Family, the celebrated winery led by “sister-cousins” Dominga, Marta and Enrica Cotarella, together with their fathers and founders Renzo and Riccardo Cotarella, created to support and sustain children and young people suffering from Dca (Eating Disorders) with an empathetic approach that puts each individual in the foreground, promoting healthy lifestyles where food and nature are central. And to support these projects, in recent days, the Foundation, in the name of art, good food and charity, has called together more than 150 guests with many “VIPs”, including well-known show business personalities such as Michelle Hunziker, journalist Bruno Vespa and singer Sting (both wine producers, the former in Apulia and the latter in Tuscany, under the oenological direction of Riccardo Cotarella), fashion designer Elisabetta Franchi, musician Zucchero Fornaciari, food blogger Chiara Maci, influencers Mariano Di Vaio and Eleonora Di Vaio, for a very special fundraiser, and whose generous proceeds (around 50. 000 euros) will go entirely to rehabilitation projects aimed at prevention and knowledge of eating disorders with the goal of creating awareness, culture and value interweaving between people but also land development aimed at the revalorization of rural areas. First, the guests took a private tour at the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel accompanied by a dedicated guide, and then moved on for dinner at the Galleria del Cardinale in Palazzo Colonna, with an aperitif signed by Ciro Scamardella, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Pipero in Rome, and then in dishes by Niko Romito, chef patron of the Michelin-starred Ristorante Reale and creator of the “IN-Intelligenza Nutrizionale” project (a direct application in hospitals and in collective catering of the Niko Romito Method, rethought and reparameterized on the concept of nutrition as a moment of great added value for the treatment of diseases and the guarantee of services to the person more generally) and with the service curated by the 35 students of Intrecci, the Academy dedicated to dining and hospitality founded in 2017 by the Cotarella Family.
“Great generosity on the part of guests and sponsors for the charity auction, which raised a very significant amount of money with many rare and valuable items including the Bass Spector Legend autographed by Sting, who was present at the dinner, purchased by fashion designer Elisabetta Franchi”, a note explained, but in the auction, in an evening that also aimed to raise awareness of a health problem whose dimension, in terms of prevalence and danger, is still little known by most of the population, there were also large sizes of Champagne, star-studded dinners, fashion items, art objects and sports memorabilia such as jerseys of players like Gianluigi Buffon and Leonardo Bonucci, among others. The goal of the dinner and auction, as mentioned, was a fundraiser to carry out rehabilitation and treatment projects as well as land development aimed at the redevelopment of rural areas. The project aims to help the most disadvantaged and promotes nutrition education for all ages, with a focus on the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Through specific activities, the Foundation steers in the right direction the motivations that inspire disordered and non-functional food choices; promotes the culture of healthy parenting, capable of educating by example and suitable for recognizing, welcoming and correcting toxic or harmful dysfunctions and habits; and supports the implementation of experiences of accompaniment and recovery of a conscious and balanced relationship with food. The funds raised will be allocated to Fondazione Cotarella’s development projects, including, to mention only the main ones, the opening of a residential center for young people coming out of treatment and which will have within it a training space, where young people will be able to gain study and internship experiences in the field of food and wine to become hospitality professionals such as maître, sommeliers, chefs, journalists and so on; the organization of a listening and guidance center, an “evolved call center” that can be a very useful tool, first of all to share a warning sign, to be heard, to ask for advice, to understand which are the best facilities and those closest to one’s residence where to go.
“We think that these activities give a broader meaning to our historical activity as wine producers. We feel that the land, the vine, has helped us to look beyond, to look up, to create value”, explains Dominga Cotarella. “It’s a challenging program, to be carried out with balance and without making a spectacle of difficult situations”, says Ruggero Parrotto, CEO of the Foundation. “We are working together with associations, entrepreneurs, farmers, doctors, researchers, nutritionists, psychotherapists, journalists, mayors, teachers, parents, volunteers, chefs, restaurateurs, and of course many young people. And we have the feeling that we are sowing hope”.
Supporting the auction were, among others, Monica Coscioni with the Necklace Collezioni Acrobate and Restivo with the Necklace with pendant, players Mattia Perin, Leonardo Bonucci and Gianluigi Buffon with autographed jerseys, Elisabetta Franchi with the lettering medium shoulder bag, Avangart with the “Couple on a Vespa” Wall Light Sculpture by Marco Lodola, Penske Automotive Italia with dinner at “Mudec”, Enrico Bartolini’s three Michelin stars and Francesco Crudele with the dinner at “Cracco”, Carlo Cracco’s one Michelin star, Champagne producers Perrier Jouet with the 2012 Magnum Belle Epoque, Doyard, Vilmart & Cie with the Jeroboam Grand Cellier and Magnum Oenoteque, Alexandre Filaine with the Magnum Cuvée Speciale and Egly- Ouriet with the Doyard Vendemiaire. While Zalto, Illy, Ginori, Mepra, San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna collaborated on the dinner’s mise.