Today we are at Alessandro Pipero in Rome, together with Sara Cintelli from The Wine Linker, for the presentation of a company that has now become a benchmark in the world of fine wine auctions thanks to its online platform. Honestly speaking, I don’t know if or when I will ever buy a fine wine at auction. What is certain, however, is that a lunch with a tasting at Alessandro Pipero definitely deserved my attention.
A lunch that inevitably turned out to be more than interesting. iDealwine, a company founded in 2000 by three great wine enthusiasts who previously worked together at the Paris Stock Exchange, managed in a short time—thanks to their passion for wine and their knowledge of the financial markets—to create a true “online wine exchange”.
I am often asked whether wine can be considered an investment and, if so, which wines should be purchased. iDealwine complements its sales activity with several useful tools for those who want to venture into this type of investment, but they are also extremely interesting for anyone wishing to explore the subject further. With the iDealwine Index, it is possible to monitor the value of wines over time, while their Barometer (available in print or PDF) provides a very detailed annual report on the main trends in the fine wine market. The data included in the Barometer is based on around 190,000 bottles auctioned each year.
I should point out that I am rarely attracted to printed reports. In this case, however, the reading is particularly interesting because it allows one to identify market trends for each wine region. Naturally, French wines dominate the report, but there is also a section dedicated to Italy. Unsurprisingly, the top of the report is occupied by Burgundy, while for Italy the spotlight is on Piedmont and Tuscany, and especially on Barolo, with a special “to watch” mention for Abruzzo, Lombardy and Veneto. It is also worth noting the significant increase in demand for organic and biodynamic wines, a trend that has already been highlighted several times during other meetings over the past six months.
However, I cannot close this article without at least a mention of food and wine.
After an intriguing aperitif, I tasted a wonderful “fried dish with a Southeast Asian sauce and mixed greens”. If I remember correctly, it was a slice of amberjack, with a flavor capable of maintaining the perfect balance between indulgence and elegance—between the satisfaction that only fried food can give and the need not to feel guilty just for having eaten something fried.
A dish worthy of praise and, in my opinion, perfectly paired with a Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Fairendes Coffinet-Duvernay 2019. A pure Chardonnay from the Côte d’Or, mineral and well-structured, with a subtle use of oak that made it a perfect match for the dish.
