Artful Vines

Some years ago a friend gave me a bottle of Bonny Doon Cardinal Zin. The label art was very different from most I'd seen and peaked my interest in wine just by its unique design. I decided at that moment that I would start a wine collection based on label art alone. I'm no wine connoisseur, I know nothing of the process, the grapes or the regions. All I know is if I've tried it and liked it. My collection has not grown much over the years. I think I've added 2 more from the same Vineyard with similar designs, and one of them was just opened and enjoyed yesterday taking it out of the collection. So in searching for another bottle, I found a website for the artist who designed those unique labels I like, Ralph Steadman.

You know the old saying "small world"? Well, sometimes I feel like everything in my little world connects. A few weeks ago a friend was telling me about Hunter S. Thompson and then a week later we watched Where the Buffalo Roam. Well, it turns out that the artwork for this movie's cover along with many illustrations related to the life and works of Thomspon were all created by the same artist who designed my Bonny Doon wine labels, and illustrated one of my beloved tales, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland! I guess there was a reason his work caught my eye. Its a style that embodies many of the works that interest me...wild, sketchy, and imaginitive.