Ornellaia charity bottles sell for £193k

A selection of large format bottles of Ornellaia’s 2017 ‘Vendemmia d’Artista’ have been sold for £193,980, with all proceeds going to charity.

Auctioned by Sotheby’s, all 12 lots were sold with the entire £193,980 (US$315,000) proceeds from the sale going to benefit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s ‘Mind’s Eye’ programme in support of the blind.

The bottles all featured original limited edition labels by Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno on the theme ‘Solare’ (‘Radiant’).

The sale’s top lot was the single nine-litre Salmanazar which went for £42,700 (US$57,251).

Jamie Ritchie, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Wine, said: “This is a fantastic result for our tenth auction with Ornellaia’s exceptional Vendemmia d’Artista project. Once again, the marriage of art and wine for which Ornellaia is renowned, has proved impossible to resist, with collectors in the US, Europe and Asia competing to acquire these stunning bottles.”

Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, CEO of Ornellaia, commented: “The huge success that the Mind’s Eye program is having, also thanks to our donations, fills us with pride, especially when we observe how the same model can extend not only to other museums belonging to the Guggenheim Foundation, but also to other art institutions in the rest of the world, ensuring that this excellence continues to guide museum programming for the blind and persons with low vision. And to all people across the world.”