Dijon sells wine to fund social spending Traditionally, the mayor presents important visitors such as ambassadors, foreign delegations and cabinet ministers, with a gift of three bottles when they're welcomed at the town hall. Stocks held by the city included "many old wines," he added. I'm not sure that I would have found the chance to give them to anyone. As well as raising funds, the wine sale had filled a "communications role," he said, to "remind the world that Dijon is a wine city." Wines sold at the auction included a bottle of 1999 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanee Cros Parantoux, which had a pre-sale estimate of €1,000 but sold for almost five times that price. After spirited bidding, the bottle was reportedly sold to a "mysterious" Chinese buyer, who had travelled to Dijon from Paris especially for the auction. Local websites claimed he had waited patiently for the bottle to come up at the end of auction, with his purchase applauded by the crowd and the wine experts advising the sale.