A Wine Bank? Yes, is really in Pollenzo (Bra)!

The Wine Bank is a cooperative which aims to disseminate the culture and recreate the historical mem-ory of the very best Italian wine.The leitmotiv of this ambitious project is the con-cept of ‘time’ and the realization that the boom yearsof Italian wine (the 1990s and the start of the newcentury) have left a historical void among winelovers. The fact is that individual winemakers haveomitted to store enough reserves and, in the case ofcertain labels, collectors have been left wanting. Hence the idea to start stocking the wines of the mostdistinguished Italian wine producers in the historic cellars of the neo-Gothic estate of Pollenzo (where Baroloand other great Piedmont reds were developed), builtby King Carlo Alberto in the first half of the 19th century. The Bank houses Wines from 300 producers select-ed by a specially appointed committee to help raise theinternational fame of Italian wine.

The producers whotake part make an annual deposit of 180 bottles (which,if desired, may included magnums), with a maximum ofthree different labels. The wines remain the property ofthe producers, but by being stored at Pollenzo, be-come part of the Wine Bank promotional circuit Thebottles will be available for sale on extended purchase,meaning they will not be delivered at the moment ofsale but continue to be stored in our cellars for a setperiod. Here lies the great conceptual difference be-tween the Wine Bank and other commercial and pro-motional ventures: as mentioned, the philosophy of theproject is to recreate a historical memory, previouslyfound only in impromptu form in the cellars of a handfulof collectors or producers.

The Wine Bank will also serve a wine museum withtours narrated in five languages on special ‘audioguides’, a website dedicated to the producers in-volved and, last but by no means least, dynamic andconstant promotion of the image and culture of wine.

More info: https://www.bancadelvino.it/en