Sotheby’s to auction Ornellaia’s latest ‘Vendemmia’ bottles

Large format bottles from Ornellaia’s 12th ‘Vendemmia d’Artista’ series, featuring the work of Tomás Saraceno, are being sold online by Sotheby’s this month.

The sale begins today (1 September) and will run until 9 September. A total of 12 imperials and one Salmanazar of the 2017 vintage of Ornellaia, featuring original work by the Argentine artist, are available to bid on and proceeds will go to support the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s ‘Mind’s Eye’ programme for the blind.

For the last 12 years Ornellaia has invited an artist to create a limited edition label for its latest vintage. For the 2017 vintage Saraceno was asked to interpret the harvest through the theme of ‘Solare’.

For a start, the labels on each of the imperials is thermo-chromic, meaning they change colour and depict an eclipse with the heat of one’s hand applied to the label.

The Salmanazar meanwhile includes a small sculpture of a glass sphere that floats above the bottle once powered by the heat of the Sun.

The Salmanazar is being offered with an exclusive visit to the estate and harvest experience. It has a pre-sale estimate of £30,000 to £60,000.

Jamie Ritchie, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Wine, commented: “We are delighted to collaborate on our tenth auction with Ornellaia’s exceptional Vendemmia d’Artista project, having enjoyed spectacular events over the past decade in New York, Hong Kong, London, Toronto, Basel, Los Angeles and Venice.

“For the second consecutive year, the special auction celebrating the 2017 ‘Solare’ will be offered online. The sublime marriage of art and wine in these unique large format bottles is a winning combination that will prove enticing to collectors around the world.”