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Ornellaia as art patron
«Vinnaya Karta» №4(112) June-July 2010

The renowned Tenuta dell’Ornellaia continues with its charity programmes to support the world of art.

The latest initiative is the donation of $167,000 to the Whitney Museum of American art in New York. The money was raised at the auction of 23 large size, special edition bottles of 2007 Ornellaia. Artists Ghada Amer and Reza Farkondeh created their artwork called ‘L’Armonia’ for the 2007 vintage of Ornellaia. The labels decorate a limited collection that contains 127 bottles of various formats. The sale conducted by Sotheby’s achieved a new price record. A unique 9-litre Salmanazar went under the hammer for $45,000, or 3,750 dollars per bottle pro rata. This is approximately 20 times higher than the wine’s average price on the market.

This is the second time that Tenuta dell’Ornellaia has commissioned art labels. The work is done within the Vendemmia d’Artista project that was launched last year. A limited number of Ornellaia bottles are now set aside each vintage, to be decorated by a label made by an acclaimed artist. These bottles have a high collection value. The long-term project aims to recapture the spirit of Italian Renaissance patronage and to forge new close links between art and wine.

“After the success of the first Vendemmia d’Artista in 2009, Ornellaia’s project is entering into its second year. Tenuta dell’Ornellaia had already made donations to the restoration of international artistic treasures in 2008, but since the launch of Ornellaia 2005, its 20th vintage, we were able to donate more than 400,000 euros”, said CEO Giovanni Geddes.