“Barolo en primeur” 2024, on October 25 the charity auction that raised 2.3 million euros in 3 years

Supporting its own territory (but not only), from which (together with the work of man) is born the excellence that, in the glass and on the plate, has conquered the world, creating an added value in wine, in the products of the land and in the land itself, elevated as in few other great territories in the world, such as Langhe. Where on October 25 “Barolo en primeur” 2024, the charity auction signed by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo and Fondazione Crc Donare Ets, in collaboration with the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, returns. In three years, the auction has raised more than 2.3 million euros destined for charitable and cultural initiatives in the area. At auction, at the Castello di Grinzane Cavour in live connection with London and New York and live online, there will be 24 lots, to which are associated 14 barrels of the Barolo Vigna Gustava 2023 that originates at the foot of the Castello (dressed with the artist label “Broke Token” created by Scottish artist Susan Philipsz, who among other things received the Turner Prize in 2010 and in 2014 was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire), and 1,229 bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco (938 0.75-liter bottles, 243 magnums and 48 double magnums, for a total of 1,212 liters) donated by 80 wineries and divided into “communal lots”, depending on the municipality of origin, while the fifteenth barrel will be hammered at the World Alba White Truffle Auction live with Hong Kong, scheduled for November 10. Beaten by the gavel of Christie’s Italy director Cristiano De Lorenzo, while waiting for the auction, bids can also be placed online.
Launched in 2021, the initiative is carried out by Fondazione Cassa Risparmio di Cuneo with Fondazione Crc Donare Ets and the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, which in the first three editions raised more than 2.37 million euros, increasing the numbers year by year: 666,000 euros in 2021, 834,000 in 2022 and 877,000 in 2023. “These funds have and are financing the development of as many as 55 Italian and foreign social projects, thus going on to create a unicum in the Italian panorama of solidarity. Among the activities supported are hospitals, art foundations, social cooperatives, institutions for women in need, integration projects, restoration of works of art and historic buildings, and more. For the third year, the proceeds from the municipal allotments will go to fund the Alba Wine School and other local entities, thus increasingly promoting the future of the new generations and thus the territory”, a note explains. “This social finance project”, the organizers go on to explain, “combines solidarity with the investment factor: the barriques associated with the charity lots are in fact the fruit of the work of renowned winemaker Donato Lanati, who vinified them separately to give each its own unique personality, the result of parceling out the vineyard according to exposure, altitude and age of the vines. At the end of the minimum 38 months of aging from November 1 of the year the grapes were produced, as required by the Consortium’s production specifications, 270 bottles of Barolo will be received from each barrique to be consumed, kept for collectibles, added to a restaurant’s menu or placed on the secondary market. A Barolo closely linked to the place where the auction is held, Grinzane Castle, as on its slopes the Nebbiolo of Vigna Gustava was born and grows, which-after the necessary aging period-will become Barolo Gustava”.
“Barolo en primeur” confirms itself as “a fundamental vehicle to promote our territory and its many excellences”, comments Mauro Gola, president of Fondazione Crc, “a unique initiative in the national panorama that, thanks to the Barolo produced by Vigna Gustava and the increasingly strong collaboration with the territory and the world of producers, succeeds in combining solidarity and valorization”. “When we kicked off “Barolo en primeur” in 2021, we were aware that it was a gamble, because there was no similar event in Italy”, intervenes Giuliano Viglione, president of Fondazione Donare Ets. “After three years, we can say we have won it: the more than 2.3 million raised in support of 55 projects testifies to this and spurs us to continue on this path, strengthened by the choral support that the entire community is offering and the wide participation of donors, which we count can grow further in this edition”. “80 Consortium wineries that have joined “Barolo en primeur” is an extraordinary result that shows the team spirit that we want to bring forward”, says Sergio Germano, president of the Consortium of Barolo. “The communal lots represent enormous added value, because they bring with them the recognition of some brands that are already famous around the world while strengthening others that deserve to be enhanced. In addition, the decision to name the lots after the 12 municipalities of origin tightens even more the auction’s deep connection with 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, and the fact that these names resonate in an international event is also a way to make people abroad discover the value of the differences that make us such a rich territory”.
During the week of the auction, the Consortium also offers a unique experience: from October 19 to 25, it will in fact open the doors of 41 of its wineries for the “Barolo en primeur exclusive tasting”, the event reserved for very small groups of wine lovers that allows them to taste en primeur the wines of the 2023 vintage and thus arrive prepared for the auction. It is an all-around experience, allowing you to discover in person some of the world’s most celebrated wineries and immerse yourself in the unique climate of the Langhe in October, shortly after the harvest, at the height of the vintage’s work and the autumn foliage.