Amarone for solidarity: Ais Veneto with Speri Viticoltori for “Alba Vitæ” 2026

A wine charity project launched in 2011 which each year supports a social cause through an outstanding local wine: “Alba Vitæ” returns as the initiative through which the Veneto section of the Italian Sommelier Association (Ais) renews its commitment to charitable giving. The star of the edition No. 16 will be Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Docg Sant’Urbano 2020 Speri Viticoltori, one of the historic and most prestigious names in the renowned denomination. The magnums on sale, a limited edition produced exclusively for the project, will support the activities of AGbD (Associazione Sindrome di Down - Down Syndrome Association), which has been active in the Verona area since 1984. The bottle is already available for purchase, priced at 80 euros, on the Ais Veneto website. In previous editions, Alba Vitæ has traveled across Veneto, involving producers, sommeliers and provincial delegations, making it possible to donate a total of 103,000 euros to charities and non-profit organizations.
The 2026 featured wine is one of the flagship labels of Speri Viticoltori, a family who for seven generations has interpreted the essence of Valpolicella Classica while maintaining a strong connection to the territory and its historic grape varieties, including Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara and other native cultivars. A deeply representative Amarone of Valpolicella Classica, it places its excellence at the service of a tangible solidarity project through Alba Vitæ 2026.
“Alba Vitæ represents one of the most concrete ways in which our association brings wine culture beyond the glass - declares Gianpaolo Breda, president of Ais Veneto - for 16 editions, a single bottle has become the meeting point between producers, sommeliers, wine enthusiasts and charitable organizations. This is the project most authentic value: transforming wine culture and the sharing of wine into a tangible act of solidarity”. “At AGbD - explains president Alberto Maculan - we work every day to ensure that independence is not seen as an exceptional achievement. We want our people to enjoy lives that go beyond simply existing and can fully flourish. Funds raised through initiatives like this bring vital energy to our projects, reshape the present of our young people, and provide renewed strength, hope and prospects for the future of entire families. When a person finds their place in the world, the whole community moves forward”. For more than forty years, AGbD has supported people with Down syndrome and their families from birth through adulthood. Today, the association assists more than 170 families thanks to a team of over 30 healthcare and educational professionals. Its activities include therapeutic programs, supported living projects, work-readiness development and social inclusion initiatives already involving 70 adults. Alongside its clinical work, AGbD is also engaged in ongoing awareness-raising activities throughout the local community, with the aim of breaking down prejudice and fostering an increasingly inclusive society.