Naples Winter Wine Festival 2024, raised $33 million, thanks in part to wine made in Italy

33 million dollars in total, including exclusive cruises, experiences linking great music and wine, and dreamy wine trips, with a nice dash of wine-related Made in Italy, signed by Antinori, Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini (with Scopeto, Caparzo and Altesino) and by the Ferragamo Family (with Il Borro), mixed with the great beauties of Italy, from the Uffizi Galleries in Florence to Siena with its Palio, from San Gimignano with its towers, to the iconic Versilia, but not only that, which together grossed $1.48 million: that’s the resounding result of the Naples Winter Festival 2024 auction, one of the world’s most important wine & food-related charity events staged in the past few days in Florida, states that raises funds for the Naples Children & Education Foundation, which assists at-risk and disadvantaged children and has raked in 302 million since 2011.
While the absolute top lot was the “Sailing the Turquoise Waters of the Mediterranean”, a top luxury cruise for 6 couples on the 95-meter super yacht “M/Y Whisper”, which will take the generous winners along the most beautiful Mediterranean shores, experiences related to the Italy of wine also played their part. 500,000 dollars each, in fact, were raised by Lot 25, “A Holiday Under the Tuscan Sun”, featuring Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini’s wineries - with a week-long trip for two couples, with exclusive dinners, guided tours and wellness experiences between Montalcino (Altesino and Caparzo), Chianti Classico (Borgo Scopeto) and Siena, during the days of the Palio, as well as great bottles such as two 5-liters of Brunello di Montalcino 2017 and two 3-liters of Brunello di Montalcino La Casa 2024, two magnums of Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 2014 by Altesino and two magnums of Brunello di Montalcino 2017 by Altesino, two magnums of Chianti Classico Borgo Scopeto 2018, and then again a 12-bottle house of Brunello di Montalcino La Casa (vintages 2000, 2004 and 2011) by Caparzo, 6 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli (2011, 2017 and 2018), and 12 bottles of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2016 by Borgo Scopeto, and lot 16 “Antinori :26 generations of excellence”, dedicated to the history of Italy's top wine brand, with a 7-night trip to the Florentine family’s Italian wineries including Antinori in Chianti Classico, Villa Tignanello, Badia a Passignano, Le Mortelle and Guado al Tasso in Bolgheri, as well as Castello della Sala in Umbria by helicopter, with a visit to Orvieto, but also stellar and signature dinners at venues such as Osteria di Passignano, Rinuccio 1180 and at the historic wine bar Procacci 1885, as well as at Palazzo Antinori, in the heart of florence, passing through a private guided tour of the Uffizi Galleries, not forgetting of course, great bottles, such as the three double magnums of Tignanello (2012, 2015 and 2017) and the three magnums of Solaia (2008, 2013 and 2014).
480,000 euros, on the other hand, raised Lot no. 8, “The Tuscan way of life with Il Borro Toscana and Cuvee”, a trip involving seven nights between Il Borro Relais & Chateaux in Valdarno, the Five-star Portrait in Florence and the Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco in Montalcino, including exclusive dinners, private cooking classes, golf matches, guided tours of the estates and cities such as Siena and San Gimignano, as well as Versilia and Forte dei Marmi, and, last but not least, a guided tour of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum with Christine and Salvatore Ferragamo. As well as two 6-liter bottles of Il Borro 2017.
But a touch of Italy, among the many lots all sold out, is also in no. 3, “The Legacy of Three Winemaking Families”, among Bordeaux, with visits and tastings at Château Lafite Rothschild and Domaines Peyronie, in California, with the Mondavi family at the Charles Krug Estate, and among the Unesco World Heritage-listed Conegliano Valdobbiadene Hills and the food & motor valley of Emilia, with Casa Valdo of the Bolla family, and, among other things, a VIP tour of the Horacia Pagani Museum and Atelier, where some of the world’s most prestigious cars are kept and made, with the guidance of Christopher Pagani. And, again, made in Italy also featured in lot no. 1, which included a fully restored historic 1966 Ford Bronco, and a magnum of all 39 producers participating in the event, including Altesino’s 2017 Brunello di Montalcino, Borgo Scopeto’s 2018 Chianti Classico, Caparzo’s 2014 Brunello di Montalcino, Doga delel Clavule’s Morellino di Scansano 2022, Il Borro’s Valdarno di Sopra 2018 and Antinori’s Matarocchio Bolgheri Superiore 2007, along with great signature wines from wineries such as Silver Oak, Harlan Estate, Joseph Drouhin, Château d’Yquem, Château-Figeac and more.