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Digital wine collectibles will see boost following launch of high profile NFTs

14 December 2021 By Jessica Mason

NFTs for fine wine will see a boost following interest from collectors, celebrities and investors, according to new reports.

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for fine wine sales saw their profile raised from American winemaker Robert Mondavi, former NBA player Yao Ming and Hollywood actress Sarah Jessica Parker whose support has reportedly helped to boost the category with an image connected to innovation as much as discernment.

For its NFT project, Napa Valley’s Robert Mondavi Winery partnered with French luxury porcelain house Bernardaud. The collection, titled “MCMLXVI,” featured a limited series of 1,966 Limoges porcelain 1.5L bottles and the NFTs were reportedly developed in partnership with VaynerNFT, founded by serial entrepreneur and blockchain enthusiast Gary Vaynerchuk.

According to Vaynerchuk: “Robert Mondavi had a gift for promotion and marketing. He told the world the Napa Valley was as good as Bordeaux—and Napa Valley has delivered over the last 40 years. If you’re into innovation like Web 3.0 right now, you, too, have an opportunity to leave behind a legacy. What’s built right now will become the foundation of our society in 15 years.”

Fine wine has appreciated 127% over the past decade, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment index, which recently highlighted how wines have been outperforming luxury bags and other investment options.

Due to rarity, investing in an NFT-enhanced wine could be even more lucrative, according to Avery Akkineni, president of VaynerNFT hinting that wine collectors could become more prepared to embrace the concept of NFTs where they no longer hold their bottles physically, since the price of residential wine cellars now reaches upwards of US$180,000.

Reports highlighted how, instead, wine collectors were beginning to use blue-chip wine stocks, investment companies and specialised facilities that store wines until they reach maturity.

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