BAROLO AUCTION: IT JUST TAKES A CLICK TO PARTICIPATE. THIS YEAR, THE EVENT (SEPTEMBER 24TH) CREATED BY THE GAGLIARDO WINERY, IS EVEN ON-LINE

Barolo, a great wine. It comes out of the wine cellars, travels via Internet, and arrives in every corner of the world. No, teletransporting has not finally been invented, rather, the 9th edition of the Barolo wine auction will also be taking place via Internet. On September 24th (3 pm) the event, which will be held at the wine cellars of Gianni Gagliardo at La Morra (Cuneo), will also be sponsored by the Piedmont Region, the Agricultural Ministry, and with live connections to the Hotel Ritz Carlton of Hong Kong, a partner who has been consolidated for years now, and the mythical Raffles of Singapore.
Gianni Gagliardo noted that it was, “A choice to emphasize one of the aspects that has always characterized the Barolo Auction, the live connections with spectators who can participate in real time from other continents”. The creators of the auction explained that the link to the Asian countries is not solely due to “the growing interest in big red wines of these new markets, but the time difference also makes it easier to participate in the auction, with the spectators at La Morra”.
Between 35 and 40 wine lots are set to be sold during the 2006 auction (info: www.gagliardo.it), and the full list will soon be available for consultation on the web site. And, as is custom dictates, there will be a space for charity as well: a single piece (5 liter bottle of Barolo “Preve” 2001 Gianni Gagliardo) will be sold to benefit a new Slow Food Presidio in Afghanistan that has the goal of developing the production of two traditional Afghan products, raisins and pistachios, in order to aid in the rebirth of the economy, which is vital for this agricultural population. And among the rest of the items to be auctioned, are included three barriques, from the “Serra dei Turchi” vineyard (and which for the occasion will be bottled a monovarietal wine, and two from a Barolo that was obtained from the mixing of three different vineyards).
The winners of these rarities can count on their uniqueness. Now all that’s left is to wait, and in the meantime cin-cin, or, rather, click-click.
Federico Pizzinelli