Wine and the Arts: A Perfect Pairing

“Wine to me is passion.  It’s family and friends.  It’s warmth of heart and generosity of spirit.  Wine is art.  It’s culture.  It’s the essence of civilization and the art of living.” Robert Mondavi

Not only is making wine a fine art, but the arts pair so beautifully with fine wine. Robert Mondavi was one of the first in North America to recognize this, and began promoting art at his winery in the late 1960s. Similarly, in 1969 he hosted their first annual summer music festival, a fundraiser for the local symphony. Since that time, concerts, plays and art shows have become popular at wineries across Canada and the US.

Naturally in Europe there’s a similar synergy between wine and the arts. The Antinori Academy works to collect and patronize artistic events and shows tied to the Tuscan countryside. Perhaps the preeminent example is in France, where the Château Mouton-Rothschild Museum of Wine in Art has since the early 1960s hosted a collection of precious wine related objects that span 3,000 years of history.  Not surprisingly, it was Baron Philippe who following the war in 1945 had the imaginative idea of creating original works of art for each vintage by famous painters, which have over time included Miro, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, and Bacon to name but a few. For an in-depth and visually lovely overview of wine labels check out the coffee table style book Icon: the Art of the Wine Label.

The most striking examples of wine and the arts are the architectural wonders of the bodegas in Spain. The Frank Gehry designed Marques de Riscal hotel which is part of the city of wine in Elciego, Spain, a luxury hotel designed for Rioja’s oldest winery is the most bold. Other avant-garde designs include the Lopez de Heredia VinaBodega Ysios, and Bodegas Darien, which are some of the most unique.

We wholeheartedly embrace this philosophy and at a more local level, have for several years now held artisan fairs, plays and live music at our south Langley and Okanagan wineries in partnership with BC artists, actors and musicians. This summer we had our first Broadway in the Vineyard performances along with our first multiband concert. Over the next few weeks we’ll have our annual Art in the Vines with over 50 local artisans displaying their wares and live theatre with Bard on the Bench, Shakespeare’s As You Like It.  A few years ago, we also issued a special release Dunfield Collection wine with a label designed by quadriplegic artist Rob Dunfield. The original 6×8 foot piece of art, from which the label was inspired, hangs in the Blusson Spinal Cord Center in Vancouver, BC. The wine release was in support of spinal cord research.

In the months and years to come, we look forward to further inspiration from the artists in our community and in continuing this perfect pairing…

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