I have a unique perspective on wine – the inner views – I thought I’d offer to you some insights I’ve been fortunate enough to uncover.
I hadn’t started my career as a photographer, I was a medical scientist/biochemist photographing human cells, looking for clues to their causing disease and their state of maturity. Discovering the microscope as a tool that could uncover art within molecules, an accident to be sure, I was invited by Sterling Vineyards to ‘audition’ for their artist-in-residence program more than 20 years ago. So I photographed my first wine – a 4 yr old merlot from Sterling. When the winemaker Theo Rosenbrand said that this picture looked like his wine tasted, I thought I was on to something. Actually I thought he was.
STERLING MERLOT 1978 at 4 years old
I had two years to prepare for the show and got to spend time with the winemakers, the tasting room folks and the incredible wines of Napa Valley. I had no words or knowledge of wine 25 years ago but its intrinsic beauty led me to exploring wine and taste, what happens during fermentation and aging, and of course, the role wine and the grape has played in our spiritual explorations over the ages. To me, one gift of wine is that helps create community and connection.
This was one of Theo’s favorite wines 
– Sterling Sauvignon blanc 1982.
I will bring more of what I’ve learned here and if you want to see it all at once, in one place, you could purchase the book Wine’s Hidden Beauty. I, of course, would welcome your insights and comments.
So what might this image show – a softness, balance, a feminine nature, and some say, the soul of wine. What do you think? Can these images add to your knowledge or appreciation of wine?