One of Australia's oldest wine company's, Penfolds Magill Estate, has teamed up with Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platform BlockBar to offer a limited-edition NFT. The NFT will be tied to Penfolds 2021 Magill Cellar 3 Shiraz Cabernet Barrel (that's right, the whole barrel!) made by Chief Winemaker Peter Gago.
The barrel, being only one of thirteen ever made from the Barossa Valley and Coonawarra region, is currently maturing and planned to be bottled in October 2022. The physical barrel, held in a secure location, will be converted into 300 standard 750ml wine bottles.
The NFT will also enjoy the same treatment, being converted into 300 bottle NFTs that the holder of the barrel NFT can trade on the BlockBar platform if they wish. The physical bottles will remain in storage until fully matured in October 2023 at which time the holder of each bottle NFT will be able to redeem their physical bottle.
The whole process is made secure and verified through a blockchain system with each bottle being securely tied to its corresponding NFT. To sweeten the drop, Penfolds is offering the owner of the barrel NFT at the date of bottling in October 2022 a personalised keepsake barrel head and the following experiences:
a private winemaker hosted tasting in Magill Cellar 3 at the Magill Estate Winery in Adelaide;
a vineyard tour, with regular video updates and imagery from the winemakers; and
a virtual tasting and a vintage visit to Penfolds Magill Estate Winery in South Australia for a 'day in the life' of a Penfolds winemaker experience.
The purchaser of the barrel, which is currently listed at USD $130,000, will not be able to redeem the barrel itself (shame!) but will effectively have the ability to trade the 300 bottle NFTs from October 2022 which, at around $400 a bottle, is an interesting proposition.
The sale is another example of institutional players in large industries capitalising on the benefits of NFTs and offering experiential benefits as well as digital collectibles, similar projects have included such names as Dolce & Gabbana and Quentin Tarantino who both recently announced NFT projects.