New fine wine members club launches auction for Ukraine

London-based fine wine club Crurated is raising money for Ukraine with an auction of rare bottles of wine, that are also available as NFTs.

The membership club, which was launched last May, has partnered with more than 50 well-known European chateaux and winemakers to raise funds for Ukraine, with a special dedicated online auction this week. The sale, which will be open to non-members who sign up for a free Explorer membership, includes around 250 bottles of rare wines, including some from the cellars of Louis Roederer, Domaine Meo-Camuzet, and Domaine Dujac.

The pre-sale estimate currently stands at around $100,000, with all proceeds from the sale being distributed to Save the Children, Red Cross, UNICEF, and UNHCR.

The members club was set up by Alfonso de Gaetano, the director of Google Publishers business across EMEA emerging markets, who said the platform was “perfectly suited” for this type of sales, as each bottle was automatically assigned with an NFT when it is loaded onto the platform. When scanned, the NFT code can provides access to the provenance detail about the wine, which will be permanently kept on the blockchain, meaning that when the rare bottles changes hands, all of the details will follow it via the NFT.

Bottles in the auction include a six-bottle vertical of Cristal 2006, 2009 and 2013, a vertical from 2015-2020 of Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny permiuer Cru Les Amoureuses which includes a custom label for the winner, a Jeroboam of Dujac Grand Cru Clos Saint Denis 2009 and a bottle of Méo-Camuzet Richebourg Grand Cru 2014.

Jean-Nicolas and  Nathalie Méo of Meo-Camuzet said they were pleased to take part, having had special links to Ukraine for more than 20 years, after sponsoring a charitable event to help young dancers and their families in Lviv, as well as raising funds for the Lviv pediatric hospital.

“Some of the children we had at home for summer vacation are probably old enough to be fighting now, and we dread the thought of their involvement in this war,” Jean-Nicolas Méo said. “We hope that the very special wines we have donated for the auction will receive an appropriate welcome and help support the needs of the Ukrainian civilians.”

Other winemakers taking part in the auction include Larmandier-Bernier, Pascal Agrapart, Pierre Péters, Suenen, Bérêche & Fils, Doyard, Moussé Fils, Salon, Vilmart & Cie, Billecart-Salmon, Geoffroy, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Caroline Colin-Morey, Robert Groffier, Père & Fils, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Caroline Colin-Morey, Robert Groffier Père & Fils, Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Arnaud Baillot, Duroché, Fourrier, Denis Mortet, Dujac, Chateau Pavie, Tenuta Sette Ponti, Ceretto, Massolino, Poderi Aldo Conterno, Grattamacco, Casanova di Neri, Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, Bartolo Mascarello, Biondi Santi, Argiano, Mascarello Giuseppe e Figlio, Il Marroneto, Giacomo Conterno, Montevertine, Tenuta di Trinoro, Elio Altare, Fontanafredda, Borgogno, and Roberto Voerzio.