Ornellaia art series breaks records at charity sale

Ornellaia’s 2009 Vendemmia d’Artista collection raised over US$190,000 for arts and education at a recent sale in Hong Kong.

The sale on Friday 27 April raised a total of $191,476 for the H2 Foundation for Arts and Education.

Bidding was strong for the bottles, which featured artwork and portraits of the philosopher Confucius from Chinese artist Zhang Huan.

Huan chose Confucius as his subject as the scholar taught that: “People should find their own position and move forward instead of disturbing the natural order of things and going overboard. The theory of harmony between man and nature tells us to respect nature in order to establish a world of equilibrium where we can live together peacefully and happily.”

Bidding was especially fierce for a collection of 10 imperials (pictured) which were eventually sold for $79,506.

Axel Heinz, winemaker and director of production of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia added: “One of the hallmarks of wine, like people, is its originality, and each year exhibits a personality that renders a wine utterly unique. Within the overall Ornellaia style, we expend much effort in identifying and highlighting the distinctive qualities of each vintage.

“Ornellaia 2009 expresses a remarkable sense of balance between opposing forces: luscious ripeness of the fruit combined with caressing structure, vivid freshness, power, elegance and complexity.”