WINTERING WINE AND ROTHKO

Wintering wine is what it looks like with the grapes gone to juice.

Wine country in Oregon’s Willamette Valley at ground level where the fruit had been.

The turning leaves paint a splash of color across the hillsides this time of year.

What’s it remind you of?

As a man of the people it reminds me of the hard work it takes to make a bottle wine.

Pop a cork at home, or out, and pour that golden sparkle white, swirl that deep mystery red, and no one thinks of the dirt it came from.

It’s more about where it’s going.

From wine country.com:

 

We understand that with all the talk about “terroir,” “body,” and “fruit-forward notes,” wine lingo can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming.

 

To help you take your wine terminology to the next level, we’ve compiled a list of 36 common wine terms and descriptors used in the wine world. No need to memorize them all; even just understanding a few will help you become a more confident wine taster and buyer, which tends to result in a more enjoyable wine experience.

 

Memorize these important questions first: Do I like it? Would I like another?

Now get back to work,

 

Gold Flash Of Wintering Wine

While some may yearn for a wonderful drive in the New England country side to witness the colors of the changing seasons, here in Oregon we just look out the window, or take a ten minute drive.

Nothing says Fall like a dormant vineyard.

With over a hundred and forty posts tagged with ‘wine’ this could be a wine blog.

But it’s not, it’s a David blog, a baby boomer blog with a twist: no nostalgia.

With that in mind I look at the shapes and colors and think of one person. Who?

If you guessed Mark Rothko you are correct.

Ever since I learned more about his paintings and ideas and art terms with which to think about his pictures, his work has gained my respect.

They are more than stripes of paint? Noooo.

More than big stripes of paint on huge canvases? Noooo.

What they are, and what they’ve always been unbeknownst to me, are the interactions of time and experience and change where reality is a steady blur until it changes.

That change is what hooked me, that border.

Look at the picture in this section as a Rothko with the borders between the grass, the vines, trees, and sky.

Oregon wine Rothko?

 

Wine, Cheese, Rothko Pavilion 

From The Portland Art Museum (PAM):

 

Portland Art Museum (PAM) announced today that its expanded and renovated campus, which will completely transform the existing Museum and create a vital “cultural commons” in the heart of downtown Portland, will open to the public on November 20, 2025.

The Museum will host a free four-day celebration for the community with festivities inside and outside the museum, and meaningful opportunities to connect with and be inspired by art.  

 

A free four day celebration? I’m excited to know this and pass it along.

Four days is a long celebration. It’s longer than the Blues Festival.

Who needs to spend four days in a museum?

With three hundred and fifty posts tagged museum you might think this is a museum blog.

It’s not, but it is a firm testament to the importance of preserving culture with a small ‘c’ and big ‘C.’

Am I going downtown for this?

Yes, I am.

Will I force others to come along?

Yes, I will. If force is needed.

Me: We’re going to the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art.

Them: Is it near the truck stop?

Me: It’s near the Rothko Pavilion.

Them: Isn’t he the guy who paints with rollers?

Me: You’ll see the borders of your life, the ecstasy, pain, joy, and loss in new ways.

Them: I don’t need reminders.

Me: Free wine?

Them: Let’s go. I hope there’s some Hawk’s View.