Visitors to Bridlewood Winery know a stop there is as much about the experience as it is about the wine. Step up to one of the winery’s hand-crafted barrel tables and taste a flight of premium wines or meander through the sunny courtyard and sip a glass of wine by the fountain. There’s even a horse-drawn carriage that will give you a ride around the 40-acre estate.
Of course, every Central Coast winery can boast wine tasting as “an experience” at its facility. Because usually it is. But there’s just something special about the former equestrian facility-turned wine-making—and drinking—haven.
So when the Bridlewood team decided to bring together the artful elements of winemaking, the local landscape, and the tasting experience to create the Bridlewood Gallery, they did so in a unique way: They decided to collaborate with Central Coast Gallery to create distinctive art.
Bridlewood manager John Kochis said the project was in front of them the whole time.
“We just started looking at what Bridlewood is about—winemaker David Hopkins’ artisan approach to winemaking, attention to detail, a boutique feel—and it made sense to bring in other art that parallels that,” Kochis said.
The staff collaborated with the Central Coast Gallery to create the Bridlewood Gallery, but not before giving the artists the Bridlewood treatment. Painters and the like were invited out to taste the wine, tour the grounds, and speak with winemaker Hopkins in the hopes that the experience would be the start of true inspiration.
It worked.
“It was such a unique experience,” said Fred Ventura of Central Coast Gallery. “Usually, you are asked to bring in your art and hang it, but this was so different.
“We went down to Bridlewood with our canvases and sketchbooks to get inspired by the place,” he explained. “What we were challenged to do was from that experience to go out and create some art.”
Some of the resulting pieces feature the look of the wines, some the colors of the hillsides and vines. Ventura’s work was inspired by the rich browns of the tasting and barrel rooms. His paintings feature dark inks on canvas, something he’s never done before, he said.
In all, eight Central Coast Gallery artists who represent a variety of media—from acrylic and oil to watercolor and photography—accepted the challenge and have created unique pieces inspired by the art of winemaking on California’s Central Coast. Artists Fred Ventura, Brian Claverie, Patti Ann Stalter, Hattie Stoddard, Jill Targer, Mikki Alhart, Jean Rittenberg, and Marne Ventura all contributed their talents to the artistic collaboration.
“The art they produced really reflects the spirit of Bridlewood and features the beauty of the Central Coast,” Kochis said.
Contact Arts Editor Shelly Cone enjoys art in a glass. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2011.