Lotte Department Store Exclusively Launches 'Art Label Wine' Featuring Works by Artist Kim Whanki

‘Don Melcho x Kim Hwan-gi Art Special Edition’ Limited Release
First Use of Kim Hwan-gi's Artwork on Wine Labels
Special Edition Collaboration with ‘Dodo Bird’ Artist Kim Sun-woo Also Available

Lotte Department Store announced on the 26th that it will exclusively release two limited edition ‘Art Label Wines’ this Chuseok, created in collaboration with renowned domestic artists and global wineries.

‘Don Melcho x Kim Hwan-ki Art Special Edition’. [Photo by Lotte Department Store]

The ‘Art Label Wine Project’ is a project that produces limited edition wines available only at Lotte Department Store through collaboration with famous domestic artists, first introduced last year. Last year, wines were released in limited quantities in collaboration with Korea’s representative artists Park Seon-gi and Ha Tae-im, as well as Italy’s ‘Michele Chiarlo’ winery and the prestigious Bordeaux winery in France, ‘Andr? Lurton’.

This year, Lotte Department Store exclusively presents the ‘Don Melcho x Kim Whanki Art Special Edition’ wine in collaboration with Kim Whanki, a master of Korean modern art. This is the first time that Kim Whanki’s artwork has been included on a wine label. The artwork featured on this art label is Kim Whanki’s representative piece ‘Universe’ (Universe 5-IV-71 #200), which was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong auction in 2019 for 13.2 billion KRW, the highest price ever paid for Korean artwork. The wine selected to feature this artwork on its label is the premium ‘Don Melcho 2021’ from the ‘Concha y Toro’ winery, which received a score of 99 out of 100 from the world-renowned wine critic James Suckling.

To present the ‘Kim Whanki Art Label Wine’ as a special gift for this year’s Chuseok, Lotte Department Store engaged in about a year of negotiations with the Kim Whanki Foundation and ‘Concha y Toro,’ the largest winery group in South America. The ‘Don Melcho x Kim Whanki Art Special Edition’ will be sold in a limited quantity of 3,000 bottles starting September 2 at the main store, Jamsil branch, and wine sections of Lotte Department Stores nationwide.

A wine set in collaboration with artist Kim Sun-woo, famous for ‘Dodo Bird,’ will also be introduced. Inspired by the ‘Chianti Classico’ and ‘Chianti Classico Riserva’ wines from ‘Baron Ricasoli,’ the oldest winery in Italy with a history of about 1,000 years, the artist personally created two artworks titled ‘The Dreamer’ and ‘The Seeker’ to match each wine. Lotte Department Store sommeliers visited the Italian winery and conducted more than 30 barrel tastings, sampling wines aging in oak barrels to select the wines. The ‘Baron Ricasoli x Kim Sun-woo Art Special Edition’ will be sold in a limited quantity of 3,000 sets starting September 4 at all Lotte Department Store locations.

The model is promoting the art collaboration wine while holding it at the main store's wine shop.
[Photo by Lotte Department Store]

Lotte Department Store is running a special promotion for customers who pre-order the Art Label Wines. Customers who apply for pre-orders on the Lotte Department Store online mall by the 29th will receive a 7% discount coupon, and those who order the ‘Baron Ricasoli x Kim Sun-woo Art Special Edition’ will additionally receive a wine-exclusive eco bag and an art postcard package featuring the artist’s works.

Additionally, a pop-up store commemorating the collaboration with artist Kim Whanki will be operated. From September 2 to 15, the ‘Don Melcho x Kim Whanki Art Special Edition Pop-up Store’ will be open on the first floor of Lotte Department Store AvenueL Jamsil branch, where customers can purchase wine and listen to explanations about Kim Whanki’s artworks. From August 30 to September 15, media videos expressing Kim Whanki’s artworks and the worldview of Don Melcho wine will be displayed on the main store’s exterior media and the media cube in front of Lotte World Tower in Jamsil.

Choi Jun-seon, sommelier of Lotte Department Store’s Wine & Liquor Team, said, “Since both wine and artworks have value in their rarity, we thought the Art Label Wines would be a differentiated Chuseok gift exclusive to Lotte Department Store,” adding, “We will continue to introduce various collaborative products to provide special experiences available only at Lotte Department Store’s wine shops.”