Established in 1270, the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges are proprietors of a remarkable wine estate of 12.5 hectares, cultivated in such a way that the word “care” takes on a dual meaning – caring both for the vineyard, and for the hospital. “The word ‘hospital’, which recalls that of hospitality, reminds us of a virtue in high estimation among the Greeks; but it also expresses a virtue far superior. […] Hospitality after all was but an exchange. Hospitals are monuments of beneficence.” In his Dictionnaire Philosophique, Voltaire described perfectly what the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges have been offering for some 750 years: charity.
This year, for the 60th Hospice de Nuits Wine Auction that will take place on March 14th, the estate is inviting a wider audience to join in this charity event. Individuals will be able to acquire a bottle of wine especially produced from the 2020 vintage. Each subscription of €150 per bottle will boost the total price of the charity “piece”, the proceeds of which will go the Institut Pasteur to finance research into mutations of the influenza virus. This may also be useful for Covid-19 variants.
Rare and Exceptional… yes, indeed. Rare because collectors the world over know that this wine made from vines more than 70 years old from the prestigious ‘Les Saint-Georges’ parcel of Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, is being produced by the estate for the very first time. And exceptional because anyone can help make this charitable event a success without having to purchase an entire barrel, each one of which contains around 288 bottles and whose prices rise year on year. Last year the significant increase in the number of buyers (50% up on the previous year), enabled total sales to reach €1,614,500 and raised €42,292.50 for the France Alzheimer Association thanks to the charity piece.
I can honestly say that it is the only estate in the world in which we work where meetings are held in a hospital! It is a great honour to work for this charity. We are proud to be part of it and will be taking out a subscription for a bottle from next week, and I hope that a great many others will do the same. Because this wine does so much good.
Contact Agnès Chiono – by e-mail: agnes.chiono@ch-beaune.fr – directly to take out a subscription for one or more bottles of the charity piece wine.
(Guillaume Jourdan wrote this post. You can reach him via LinkedIn)
