Corks and Canvas: An Experiment in Pairing Wine with Art

Several years ago, when I started this blog I wanted to pair wine with the world around us.  I figured I could pair wine with just about anything.  For the longest time I was pairing wine with music.  I had ideas to pair wine with cars (which I did with Lexus and Champagne), wine with dead celebrities and wine with art.  When I took my new job as beverage director for the Cohn Restaurant Group, my blogging time became much more limited and many if these concepts got put on the back burner.  However, two years before, I hosted several art shows where I experimented in pairing wine with art.

Pairing wine with art was very different from pairing wine with music.  The reason being, I actually had artists showing their work and pouring the wine I paired with their pieces.  As with music, I would drink a bottle of wine and find the right songs that paired with it.  It would be up to the readers of the blog to take my word for it.  This experiment, pairing wine with art really took off.  People enjoyed walking around and visiting with the artists and trying the wines.

Galleries always serve wine during shows, but very few actually think about what they are serving.  I wanted to take it to the next level and make sure that each wine paired with the art they were viewing.  Thus I created Corks and Canvas.  What also makes Corks and Canvas unique is that all the artists work within the restaurant industry.  They are all employees of the Cohn Restaurant Group.  I remember when I was in art school, I would paint by day and work by night.  The most difficult part was finding an outlet to show my work.  I sympathize with our employees, they work long hours in a demanding industry and then have to save enough energy to create.  Worse is that after hours of working and creating they need to find an outlet to show their work.  I figured why not combine the two.  Give our employees an outlet to show their work and support them on their creative endeavors.

The art show also becomes a wine sale, all the wines are available to buy along with the art.  So if you buy a painting you might as well by the wine so you can enjoy the pairing in the comfort of your own home.  Many times people could not buy both, so instead they bought the wine which would remind them later of the painting.

Now, there is a process behind pairing wine with art.  I wrote a pretty detailed description awhile back ago, it was one of my first posts.  During the show I will project slides on how to pair wine with art on a large video wall.  This is a one of a kind event. You get to learn about pairing wine with art, enjoy seeing art and taste wines before you buy.  Hors d’oeuvre will also be served.

Here is a brief bio of all the artists presenting.