“Barolo en Primeur” donated 132.800 euros to the Wine School in Alba, custodian of “Vigna Gustava”

A check for 132.800 euros was given to the Wine School in Alba. This was the amount raised from the 1.200 bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco wines that 75 producers of the Consortium for the Protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani donated to the 2nd edition of the “Barolo en Primeur” auction, held in October 2022. The Wine School in Alba is one of the most important schools for the future of Langhe Denominations, where students maintain and cultivate the “Vigna Gustava”, the vine that Count Camillo Benso Cavour owned and vinified at the foot of the Grinzane Cavour Castle. Moreover, it is the vine from which the wine in barriques are auctioned. Ezio Raviola, president of the CRC (bank Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo) Foundation, Giuliano Viglione, president of the CRC Donare ETS ( not-for-profit sector) Foundation, and Matteo Ascheri, president of the Barolo Consortium, are the promoters of the prestigious charity auction held at the Grinzane Cavour Castle, which will be returning in October 2023. They presented the check at the School headquarters to the Manager, Antonella Germini, to support educational activities and restore the institute’s structures. Since its first edition, in 2021, thanks to generous philanthropists and wine collectors from all over the world, “Barolo en Primeur” has raised over 1.5 million euros to help fund various activities in the Piedmont area.
“Barolo en Primeur” is the first and only project in Italy that connects one of the great ambassadors of Made in Italy, Barolo, to the values of solidarity, territory, art and social finances. It is an extraordinary charity event that since 2021 has been held at the Grinzane Cavour Castle in live streaming with New York. The check delivered to the Wine School is the amount raised at the 2022 edition of the auction for the municipal lots producers of the Consortium donated, while earnings from the 15 barriques of Barolo of the “Vigna Gustava” Barolo, now owned by the CRC Foundation, went to 17 different charitable National and international businesses. The first edition of the auction raised 666.000 euros, while the total of the 2nd edition jumped to 769.800 euros.
The check donated will fund the first part of a multi-year modular project that the producers of the Consortium have undertaken through "Barolo en Primeur", to support the Alba Wine School, where a special Scientific Fund Management Committee was set up with the funds raised, thanks to the wines donated. “This check demonstrates the Consortium’s intentions to invest in future generations”, Matteo Ascheri, president of the Barolo Consortium, explained, “the Alba Wine School is a fundamental value for the area, and we strongly believe that tomorrow’s winegrowers and oenologists can and should come from here. The en primeur sale represents an investment for the future, and likewise, we are doing the same thing with the students at the School, giving them the necessary means and confidence to study in the most ideal conditions. The success of “Barolo en Primeur” pushes us to focus even more on this event, which can become a powerful virtuous circle for promotion and training”. “We shall continue to work on growing a project in which we deeply believe and our ambition is to confirm it is an innovative model combining charitable aims to promoting and enhancing the territory”, Ezio Raviola, president of the CRC Foundation, underlined, “our next goal is to make this event more and more international, supported by the affectionate welcome that the market and the foreign press have shown towards us. We are now very busy preparing for the next charity auction in October this year, and there will be many innovations to make “Barolo en Primeur” even more engaging and fascinating”.
“The Wine School is one of the top excellent products in our territory and this check will help enormously to make the structure grow as well as confirm it as an avant-garde training centre”, Antonella Germini, Director of the Wine School, said, “the funds raised and donated to our institute are a wonderful opportunity that we will make the most of for our students, who are the human capital that will lead the future not only for our wines, but the entire territory, too”. “Engaging wine producers of the Consortium in the second edition was a component that helped “Barolo en Primeur” grow even more”, Giuliano Viglione, president of the CRC Donare ETS Foundation, concluded, emphasizing that “our Foundation has always been very close to the companies that operate in the area, and we deemed it essential to support training courses for younger generations who are ready to take charge of the work in the vineyards, a fundamental element for our territory’s future”.
During the ceremony, a progress report and accounting of the projects the “Barolo en Primeur” 2021 edition funded for a total of 666.000 euros was also detailed. The funds were used to purchase machinery for home hospital assistance in Piedmont, like Adas Foundation and the Civil Protection of Cuneo; to restore ancient artefacts, like the Racconigi Castle, or of important buildings such as the Augusto Rancilio Foundation at Villa Arconati or the Opera Barolo with the facades of the Palazzo and to Cherasco for the Adriani Civic Museum ; or in China, to the China-Italy Philanthropy Forum to promote pediatric care for cancer patients activities.
The projects have a definitely positive impact not only to the final beneficiaries but also because these projects often create jobs and an important socio-economic impact for the communities in which they operate. The Art and Nature project is a prime example as the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art is working with children, families and teachers; the Molinette ONLUS (non-profit organization) Research Foundation study on the Rs cells, typical of Hodgkin's lymphoma; Third time. Contemporary art and Movement of the Sandretto Rebaudengo Foundation; the purchase of Pet equipment for the Santa Croce and Carle Hospital Foundation; social activity of the B612 Lab Association of Saluzzo; and the program of visits to Regina Margherita of the Italian Umbilical Cord Blood Donors Association for children hospitalized in the onco-haematology department. In Verduno, instead, the New Alba-Bra ONLUS Hospital Foundation is refurbishing its rooms to make them more welcoming, while in Alba the funds are making it possible to restore the Centro Prima Accoglienza Albese ONLUS. Furthermore, the Alta Langa ONLUS Cultural Park Association is promoting the Val Bormida territory in the Cuneo area and the ancient knowledge here that is in danger of disappearing.