Australian wine giant Penfolds has become the first wine brand to partner with BlockBar, a leading NFT marketplace for luxury wine and spirits products.
Penfolds is joining the cryptocurrency trend to become the first wine partner with BlockBar, a leading NFT marketplace for luxury wine and spirits products.
One of the world’s most respected wine estates, Penfolds has launched a limited edition NFT tied to its rare Magill Cellar 3 barrel of wine, made from the 2021 vintage, available for purchase for US$130,000.
The single barrel NFT will be converted into 300 bottle NFTs at the date of bottling the wine in October 2022 with each bottle being identified with both a barrel and bottle number.
Penfolds’ chief marketing officer, Kristy Keyte commented on the partnership: “This is our first venture selling wines via NFT and cryptocurrency, allowing us to connect and build relationships with new collectors, who buy and trade luxury wine in a completely new and refreshing way. The wine itself, Magill Cellar 3 from the 2021 vintage, is not available for public purchase making it the ultimate collector’s item.”
The NFT serves as a digital receipt that verifies the buyer’s ownership and authenticity of the wine bottles. The barrel NFT can be resold or transferred through the BlockBar platform but cannot be redeemed by the purchaser. The bottle NFTs can, however, be redeemed by the purchaser for the physical bottle after the date of release of the wine in October 2023.
As part of this programme, the owner of the barrel NFT at the time of bottling in October 2022 will receive a personalised keepsake barrel head and an opportunity to take part in a selection of special experiences in October 2022 including; a private wine tasting in Magill Cellar 3 (Penfolds Magill Estate Winery South Australia); a vineyard tour, with regular video updates and imagery from the winemakers; a virtual tasting and visit to Penfolds for a ‘day in the life’ of a winemaker experience.
“We’re excited to be a part of this innovative milestone for both Penfolds launching its first NFT, and BlockBar launching its first wine brand on the platform” said Dov Falic, CEO of BlockBar. “We believe the use case for authentication with blockchain technology is of utmost importance for the industry – with BlockBar consumers know they are buying authentic wine, direct from the brand owner.”
The first Penfolds Barrel NFT will launch on November 24, 2021 at 9am EST. A lobby will become available on BlockBar.com 30 minutes ahead of the launch, whereby to enter, prospective buyers must have one ETH in their metamask wallet.
The lobby will close at the launch time where one will be randomly presented with the opportunity to purchase the Penfolds Barrel NFT for purchase at USD$130,000 via Ethereum (ETH), credit card, or wire transfer only.