Artketing: Pont des Arts Launches 2012 Wine Collection with Yue Minjun

Pont des Arts, which releases limited collections of wine with exclusive artistic labels, has teamed up with Chinese artist Yue Minjun, best known for his idiosyncratic “smiling faces,” for their newly unveiled 2012 collection. The Hong Kong-based company, founded in 2010 by Arthur de Villepin and Thibault Pontallier, had previously released two collections with labels by Zao Wou-Ki, the Chinese master who passed away in April 2013. Pontallier is the son of Paul Pontallier, who heads one of Bordeaux’s most prestigious wine houses, Château Margaux, while de Villepin is the son of former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and sculptor Marie-Laure Viébel.

For the new collaboration, Pont des Arts and Yue have selected six of the artist’s previous works, including the 1995 Sky, a painting full of symbolism and hope for a new China. The Bordeaux Set includes a Sauvignon Blanc, a Rive droite, and a Lalande-de-pomerol while the Burgundy set offers a Côte de Nuits-Villages, a Nuits-Saint-Georges, and a Meursault.

This year, Pont des Arts is also launching “Infinity”, a 40-year-old Cognac XO Fine Champagne, decorated with a label based on Yue Minjun’s 2009 Snake artwork.