73 Extraordinary Lots to Fund Diversity & Inclusion in Wine
September 20th – Fine wine and rare spirit lovers globally will be able to bid on a unique set of 73 auction lots in The Golden Vines Fine Wine, Rare Spirit & Experience Charity Auction. Organised by Liquid Icons, the auction will be available as an online auction using an eCatalogue with embedded WPA technology to allow for bidding globally. The auction will open from Thursday 23rd September and close on the night of The Golden Vines Awards Ceremony & Dinner on Thursday 7th October. Each auction lot will feature large formats or rarities, as well as a ‘money-can’t-buy’ experience from many of the world’s top fine wine estates and spirit distilleries. The eCatalogue can be viewed here: CATALOGUE.LIQUIDICONS.COM
Proceeds from the auction will go to Gerard Basset Foundation to fund diversity and inclusion wine education programmes globally, including The Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships. The Foundation expects to raise over £1 million from the auction. 23 institutional and community groups from around the world have submitted funding requests to be considered for grants from the Foundation.
Lewis Chester DipWSET of Liquid Icons and Trustee of the Foundation commented: “We are honoured and humbled by the enormous enthusiasm and generosity of so many top fine wine estates and spirit distilleries in support of the Foundation’s work. The industry clearly recognises the issues around diversity & inclusion and the need to radically tackle them through the Foundation’s global wine education programmes.”
Fine wine & spirit lovers will be able to bid on unique bottling formats, often signed by the owner or head winemaker, while taking their family, friends, colleagues or clients on VIP tours, tastings, fine wine or spirit lunches or dinners, often while staying at wineries or distilleries from across five continents.
Liber Pater is donating a Melchior (18 Litre) of the world’s most expensive red wine on release, along with a tour, tasting and lunch with the incomparable Loic Pasquet.
Cheval Blanc is opening its doors to a party of 10 guests to stay at the Château while enjoying a fine wine dinner with its head winemaker, Pierro Clouet, along with a jeroboam of Cheval Blanc 2006. If a rare large format of Penfolds Grange takes your fancy, there will be a 6 Litre of the 100-point 2016 vintage on offer. A stay at the owner’s private residence? The Catena family welcomes you to Mendoza, Argentina for a 3-night trip. If you have always wanted a rare magnum of Egon Muller’s TBA, there is a 2018 magnum on offer while dining with Egon and Egon Junior in the Mosel Valley. For those who have always wanted to try 90+ year old perfectly-cellared Grand Crus Burgundy, spend a night at the beautiful Domaine des Lambrays in Morey-Saint-Denis while drinking your way through bottles from the 1930s with head winemaker, Jacques Devauges. Always wanted to stay at Veuve Clicquot’s magnificent Hotel du Marc in Reims? This is your chance, while taking home a jeroboam of 1990 La Grande Dame. Hunting for a perfect provenance magnum of the great 1985 Sassicaia? Yours plus a double-magnum of 2009, after having had lunch with your party of six at this most private of estates while being hosted by Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta.
Estates & Distilleries donating Fine Wine, Rare Spirit & Experience Charity Auction lots:
- Bordeaux: Château Cheval Blanc, Domaine Clarence Dillon, Liber Pater, Château Margaux, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Palmer, Château Pavie, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Château d’Yquem
- Burgundy: Domaine Baron Thénard, Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot, Domaine Georges Comte de Vogüé, Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron, Domaine Joseph Drouhin, Domaine Dujac, Domaine des Lambrays, Domaine Laroche, Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Domaine Jean-Marc Millot, Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, Domaine Georges Noëllat, Domaine Jean-Marc Roulot
- Champagne: Boërl & Kroff, Charles Heidsieck, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Louis Roederer, Moët & Chandon, Rare, Ruinart, Salon & Delamotte, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot
- Rest of France: Chêne Bleu, Domaine Georges Vernay
- Italy: Biondi-Santi, Castiglion del Bosco, E. Pira di Chiara Boschis, Giacomo Conterno, Gaja, Bruno Giacosa, Giuseppe Rinaldi, Luca Roagna, Tenuta San Guido
- Spain: La Rioja Alta, Marqués de Riscal
- Portugal: Barca Velha, Symington Family Estates
- Germany: Egon Müller, Schloss Johannisberg
- England: Gusbourne Estate, Justerini & Brooks
- California: Colgin Cellars, Harlan Estate, Lawrence Wine Estates (Heitz, Stony Hill & Burgess), Mayacamas, Opus One, Ridge Vineyards
- Chile: Viñedo Chadwick, Lapostolle Clos Apalta, Viña Vik
- Argentina: Bodega Catena Zapata
- South Africa: Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Kanonkop Wine Estate, Klein Constantia, Leeu Family Wines, Meerlust Estate, Mullineux, The Eben Sadie Family Wines, Vilafonté
- Australia: Penfolds Grange
- Singapore: Vinum Fine Wine
- Spirit Distilleries: Brora, Glenmorangie, Hennessy, The Macallan, Sullivans Cove
The Golden Vines Fine Wine, Rare Spirit & Experience Global Online Charity Auction
23 September – 7 October 2021, Auction eCatalogue available here:
All funds raised in benefit of Gerard Basset Foundation to support diversity & inclusion in wine (Charity Registration Number: 1193020)
About Liquid Icons:
Liquid Icons is a fine wine research and content production company founded by two friends to “do stuff in wine” – the late, great Gerard Basset OBE MW MS and Lewis Chester DipWSET. We create first-class original content and research about the world’s greatest fine wines and spirits. Our work encompasses motion picture, industry research, recognition and celebration of wine and spirits excellence, charitable and fundraising activities, as well as educational initiatives. https://liquidicons.com
About Gerard Basset Foundation:
Set up to honour the legacy and memory of Gerard Basset OBE MW MS by addressing the wine industry’s most pressing issues through education, training & mentorship, the Gerard Basset Foundation comprises a multidisciplinary team of industry-leading professionals as its Trustees: Nina Basset FIH, Romané Basset, Lewis Chester DipWSET, Ian Harris MBE DipWSET, and Jancis Robinson OBE MW. https://gerardbassetfoundation.org
