Expectations are high for the 25th anniversary of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, but turning wood to stone takes the achievement to a stratospheric level.

That’s exactly what the festival has done, receiving from the Naples woodworking companies of Thomas Riley a commission for nine identical busts cast in white concrete to celebrate the milestone. Each of the 500-pound busts rests on a cube with the NWWF logo and the year 2025 stacked on alternating sides, creating a 5 ½-foot sculpture total. They’ve been located in public places around Naples from the airport to the Garden of Hope and Peace at NCH. (See the information box for locations.)

“We picked each spot carefully. These locations highlight the community partners who’ve been with us through thick and thin. We strategically picked spots where we knew people would stumble upon and enjoy these pieces,” explained an email from Simone Lutgert, a representative of the committee working on anniversary events.

“A cool bonus — we’ve got a 10th piece, the artist’s proof, which will be part of our ‘Trustee Treasure Trove’ live auction lot. This lot also includes an unbelievable collection of 239 bottles of wine,” she wrote.

Method & Concept, a Design District art gallery which also works in art consultation, suggested one of its artists, Brett Harvey, to create a work with the festival’s 25th anniversary logo. Its symbol is done in the modern style of Robert Indiana, whose famous 1964 LOVE sculpture compacts the word’s letters into two layers.

In contrast, the sculpture has classical roots: a bust of Bacchus, the god of wine and viticulture from Roman mythology. The Italian connection came from what everyone saw as the similarities of Naples, Florida, to Naples, Italy, said Chad Jensen, founding director of Method & Concept.

“We wanted to give them something contemporary, obviously with the logo, but something that also felt like it fit in Naples. So were able to do this really beautiful kind of classic interpretation of Bacchus but sitting on a cube that had the logo on it,” he explained.

It’s a departure for Thomas Riley Companies, which has given the festival some of its finest auction lot elements, working with it since 2008. Among them have been a dining table that encases, beneath glass, the entire 65-year series of Château Mouton Rothschild artist labels from 1945 to 2009. Another work was an oversized, hand-carved wood replica of Joseph Krug’s 1848 personal notebook, inside which were housed rare Krug vintage Magnums.

The French association with fine wines — which have been a strong part of the Naples Winter Wine Festival — hasn’t been forgotten. The Bacchus bust is done in the classic style of Auguste Rodin, the famous French sculptor.

The sculptures will stand in their current locations until after the annual grant awards ceremony mid-March. After that, Method & Concept will handle sales of the sculptures, Lutgert’s email said.

The festival is Jan. 24-26. For more information, see its website, napleswinefestival.com.