When Korean-American fashion designer Yoon Ahn visited Moët & Chandon's vineyards in Épernay, France, last year, she was inspired by the agricultural heartland of Champagne and its age-old traditions. Now the Ambush fashion house founder/creative director and the historic grande marque Champagne house are breaking new ground with the first ever Impérial cuvée artist collaboration.
The idea to redesign the Moët Impérial bottle came up at the sparkling wine’s celebrity-filled 150th anniversary party in 2019. But in contrast with Veuve Clicquot's recent sculpture-bottle collab with artist Yayoi Kusama, Moët’s new limited-edition redesign is quite subtle: The classic gold neck takes on a deep shade of black, and the pale gray lettering on a stark white label is meant to suggest a blank slate.
"I hope that Champagne lovers are inspired by the blank slate that I created with Moët & Chandon and dare to step forward into the metaphorical window of a future filled with endless possibilities," Ahn told Unfiltered via email. "Additionally, I hope the values of Ambush and Moët & Chandon inspire Champagne lovers to preserve nature, to have esteem for people and traditions and to bring their own unique and exceptional qualities to their respective communities."
A portion of the sales from the special-edition Moët & Chandon x Ambush Impérial Champagne and Nectar Impérial Rosé Champagne bottles (priced at $51 and $63, respectively) will be donated to the World Land Trust, which supports local conservation partners to halt the destruction of ecosystems. For this project, Yoon chose to direct funds to halting the deforestation of the Canandé Reserve in Ecuador's Chocó rainforest.
"This partnership with Yoon brings a disruptive freshness to the centuries-old heritage of Moët & Chandon," Moët's chef de caves Benoît Gouez told Unfiltered via email. "It is aligned with our own commitment to preserving nature to ensure a bright future for the next generation."
Ferrari Trento Christens Prada Yachting Team with Maximum Magnums
Italian winery Ferrari Trento has created a new sparkling wine bottle to celebrate Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli’s yachting team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Launched in early February, the limited-edition Ferrari Trento Maximum Blanc de Blancs bottles feature the Luna Rossa team logo.
Only 2,021 magnums of the Trentodoc sparkler were made. The production volume commemorates the 2021 America’s Cup race, which begins March 6, in which the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team expects to compete. “We are proud to be a partner of Luna Rossa Prada,” Ferrari Trento CEO Matteo Lunelli told Unfiltered via email, “[This bottle] is dedicated to those around the world who are passionate about sailing and fine wines and to those who are inspired by the quest for maximum performance.”
Ferrari became Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s sparkling wine partner in 2019, christening the team’s new AC75 yacht with a bottle of their Maximum cuvée. According to the team’s director and skipper Max Sirena, the partnership resulted from a dinner he shared with Lunelli and Prada external relations director Francesco Longanesi Cattani. “It felt natural to all of us to embark on this collaboration that is collectively emblematic of the quality and passion of our homeland,” Sirena told Unfiltered via email.
But it’s not all high speed on the high seas for Ferrari. Working with local charities, the winery is also supporting poverty relief and healthcare in Italy’s Trentino province, and has also financed a children’s shelter in Mozambique.
Enjoy Unfiltered? The best of Unfiltered's round-up of drinks in pop culture can now be delivered straight to your inbox every other week! Sign up now to receive the Unfiltered e-mail newsletter, featuring the latest scoop on how wine intersects with film, TV, music, sports, politics and more.
