Com-St-05-06-24-VinoSolidarietaENG.pdf
According to a survey on “Wine & Solidarity” carried out by the winenews.it website in cooperation with Vinitaly, Donnafugata is the Italian wine company preferred by “eno-nauts” for its commitment to humanitarian projects.
A remarkable 97% of those polled strongly endorsed the charity drives undertaken in the wine world but some were admired more than others.
Asked about which project they considered most significant, 10,550 persons gave first place to the “Donnafugata for the Heart” project, among those sponsored by winemaking companies, and preferred the S. Egidio Community’s “Wine for Life” program among those promoted by authorities or organizations.
Donnafugata’s success? It goes back to 2002 when “Donnafugata Music & Wine” was inaugurated, a tastings-set-to-music project arising from the passion for music felt by José Rallo, the house’s owner, her husband, Vicenzo Favara, and their desire to promote a new way of approaching fine wine.
In 2004 “Donnafugata Music & Wine” became a live CD on which José’s voice and Vicenzo on percussion—accompanied by a group of professional musicians—offered a repertory of jazz and Brazilian music, each piece accompanying a different wine.
In the meantime, heart surgeon Carlo Marcelletti appealed for funds to aid him in his non-profit work with pediatric heart patients, and Donnafugata decided to devote sales of the CD to this cause.
And so, after presentation at the Blue Note in Milan, the “Donnafugata Music & Wine Live” CD was distributed in Italian wine stores and restaurants and in just eight months brought in more than 100,000 euros.
José Rallo explains that “the funds will finance scholarships for young doctors from North Africa and the Middle East for two-year specialization courses at the Mediterranean Pediatric Heart Surgery School. There, they will learn the latest techniques in direct contact with Professor Marcelletti and his staff at the Heart Surgery Department of the Palermo Civic Hospital, a highly regarded treatment center. This is one way of helping to concretely integrate the two sides of the Mediterranean, in one of the sectors where the gap between north and south in the world is widest—healthcare.”
But that’s not all. The “Donnafugata for the Heart” project plans to go abroad. It’s next stop is at the Blue Note in New York—a world temple of jazz—where on November 7 “Donnafugata Music & Wine” will be on stage to delight the ears and palates of American wine-lovers and also, naturally, to collect more funds.
Public Relations:
Baldo M. Palermo [email protected] tel. 0039 0923 7242267
Laura Ellwanger [email protected] te. 0039 0923 724258
