Media Release
Barossa winemaker Dave Powell will be the first vintner in the world to sell an entire vintage by NFT when he puts his 2021 single-vineyard vintage wines under the virtual hammer on OpenSea, under his new brand Neldner Road.
An NFT is a “non-fungible token” – a way of owning an original digital image.
According to DappRadar, a company that tracks data on crypto-based applications, the NFT market exceeded $10 billion in transaction volume in the third quarter of 2021.
Powell, founder of Torbreck and more recently Powell & Son, says the decision to sell the vintage this way makes sense as the wine world struggles with Covid and geopolitics.
“I’ve always liked to try new things and when I found out about NFTs, it seemed to fit well with wine,” he says.
“This reminds me of how wines are sold in Bordeaux through their en primeur system, which has been in operation for over a century.
“Like en primeur, people who purchase an NFT could be at an advantage over the normal wine buyer, who will pay full retail price once the wine hits the open market.
“Like en primeur, NFTs guarantee provenance, which is great, but it’s more about bringing my wines to a new audience who I think will be interested in what we’re doing.
“Like the more ‘traditional’ NFT products, our wine is rare – just 100 barrels; it’s unique – every vintage is different; and it’s the original collectible – the oldest personal wine collection we know of dates back nearly 4,000 years.”
Powell has emulated parts of the ultra-luxury wine auctions like the Naples Winter Wine Festival and the Napa Wine Auction, and included within the NFTs a package of one-of-a-kind experiences to complement the wines, such as:
- Working a day’s vintage with Dave and his crew plus dinner together,
- The barrel bottled into personalised wine bottles for an individual or corporate entity,
- Wine cellared by Neldner Road, and
- Barrel head with personalised plaque as a keepsake.
Some barrels also come with a hologram of the barrel for owners to display at home, and there are one-of-a-kind travel and hospitality experiences with Dave at his home for buyers who buy multiple NFTs or the entire vintage.
Powell rebranded his internationally renowned Barossa Valley wines as Neldner Road this year, in recognition of the “sense of place” that is the heart of his life’s work in the winery.
“These vineyards are some of the oldest in the world – older than the famous Bordeaux vineyards in France,” he says.
“Over the last 100+ growing seasons they have developed their own rich, complex characters, which are reflected in each wine.
“It’s taken me 40 years of working here in the Barossa to find these vineyards, work with the owners to rejuvenate and maintain them, and finally create these wines which are the best of my career.”
The 2021 vintage has been called out by many Barossa winemakers as the best in living memory.
“I’ve waited more than four decades to be in the right place at the right time,” Powell says.
“I feel extraordinarily privileged to have secured the very best grapes from some of the most exceptional vineyards in the Barossa, even before we knew how spectacular 2021 was going to be.
“The confluence of climatic conditions that lead up to the vintage I feel will never been repeated again, and hence have resulted in fruit that is simply the best I’ve ever seen – and I think these wines may well be the best I ever make.”
NFT #1 – Purchase the entire vintage – all 100 barrels also includes:
- The opportunity to host a special event in the Barossa Valley for yourself and 19 friends. Enjoy dinner cooked by celebrated Australian chef Tetsuya Wakuda; your own wine, and a night of tales and frivolity with Dave, whose hospitality is globally renowned. Visit Dave’s place and all the single vineyards; meet Dave’s dogs and chooks; and explore the Barossa Valley with Dave as your personal guide.
- This option includes 20 return business class airfares from any major city in the world to Sydney, Australia and on to Adelaide.
- Return transfers to the Barossa Valley.
- Accommodation in Sydney and the Barossa Valley.
- A state-of-the-art hologram from Voxon of your barrel for you to display at home.
- All other standard inclusions
See OpenSea for Neldner Road NFTs.
Further reading