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Ornellaia confirms second London auction
Tuscan estate Ornellaia has highlighted the pre-eminence of London for global wine collectors as it confirmed plans to host a second charity auction in the UK capital this year.
One of the Ornellaia lots expected to feature at the November auction
Due to be held on 13 November in conjunction with Sotheby’s, the event forms part of the producer’s 25th anniversary celebrations. These centre around its 2010 vintage, which features a limited edition design by Michelangelo Pistoletto, the latest artist to join Ornellaia’s annual Vendemmia d’Artista series.
Explaining the decision to host an event in London just six months after an initial auction raised £275,000 for the Royal Opera House, Ornellaia’s communication & media PR manager Andrea Orsini Scataglini told the drinks business: “London is the city for collection; it’s a magical city where collecting is an art form.”
In addition to confirming the benefit offered by the UK’s time zone compared to New York or Asia when it comes to attracting global interest during auctions, Orsini noted: “A lot of international people have their cellars here.”
In particular, he pointed to Russia, Germany and Asia as the strongest collectors’ markets for Ornellaia at present. In China, Orsini defined this interest as coming especially from “Shanghai and Hong Kong – less in Beijing.”
Although the exact line-up for the November event is still to be confirmed, Orsini suggested it was likely to include a repeat of a lot which sold for £22,000 at the May auction.
This comprised a collection of four double magnums: a 2010 vintage bearing the mirrored Pistoletto label; a special 25th anniversary label, also from 2010; the third comes from the 2005 vintage, which marked Ornellaia’s 20th anniversary; while the final bottle comes from the 2010 vintage and carries the standard Ornellaia label.
In keeping with the charitable ethos of the Vendemmia d’Artista programme, proceeds from the November event will go to the Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto. This foundation was established by the artist in 1998 to bring together representatives of different disciplines and sectors of society for exhibitions designed to position art “at the centre of socially responsible change.”
Looking back on the evolution of these artistic partnerships since the series launched in 2009 with a single Salmanazar of 2006 Ornellaia designed by Luigi Ontani, Orsini noted: “The interest and the funds raised are growing. This year we doubled what we raised in the first few years.”