When we think of wines, we often think of the grape variety but do you ever stop and think about its personality, characteristics and what kind of memory lingers with you? We started thinking about this on Thursday night when we entered through the unassuming doors to the VQA Into The Vine event – a multi-sensory experience that combines art, culture, food and VQA wine, that is on now for this weekend only. We strongly suggest you grab your tickets before they all sell out.
It’s dubbed as a deconstructed wine tasting. The wine takes centre stage but in a non-traditional approach that is both refreshing and inspiring. Six internationally highly acclaimed contemporary artists and design teams were invited to create a unique art installation taking inspiration from a specific wine variety that is part of the VQA Ontario portfolio. Think Sparkling, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, and Cabernet Franc. There are, of course, pairings with the art featuring several VQA wines from Wine Country Ontario for visitors to explore and enjoy offering an extension of the experience.
So, what does VQA stand for? If you don’t know, it stands for Vintners Quality Alliance. When you see VQA Ontario on a bottle, it means the wine is made form 100% Ontario-grown grapes, which have been approved through a strict quality-assurance program.
Here’s a sneak peek at what we saw at the preview:
ATOMIC3 + Chardonnay:
Felix Dagenais and Louis-Xavier Gagnon-Lebrun is a design team known as Atomic3 and known for creating urban installations that are thought provoking spectacles. Their piece Island of Warmth gets as active as the participants desire. Sets the mood of a gathering of old and making new friends – a gradual warm up turned into a full on party well into the night.
Studio F Minus + Riesling:
Brad Hindson and Mitchell F. Chan have created stunning large-scale art projects for cities across Canada and have exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. They incorporated over 30,000 white flowers to create their piece Hochst-Immershone Kunstinhalt to embody the fresh and captivating characteristics of Riesling.
Xiaojin Yan + Sparkling:
Artist Xiaojing Yan continues to bring her explores her cultural identity by fusing traditional Chinese materials and techniques with contemporary aesthetics. Cloud Cell is a breathtaking work of art that incorporates 13,000 freshwater pearls suspended in cloud formation that reminds us of the effervescence of Sparkling wine evoking a sense of luxury and celebration.
Madison Van Rijn + Pinot Noir:
Rising illustrator and muralist, Madison Van Rijn, has had her playful work featured in numerous publications from magazines to print and online. Drawing influence from fabric textures, her story here seductively draws visitors into the space with the warm and inviting colour palette much like the heartbreak grape, Pinot Noir.
WECIP Wilfried Della Rossa + Gamay Noir:
Behind the alluring dark curtains we discovered WECIP artist Wilfried Della Rossa’s MINNK, a universe created with light, audiovisual and kinetics that evokes a sense of excitement and mystery much like the Gamay Noir. What is the next big thing? #gogamaygo
Guillaume Marmin + Cabernet Franc:
French visual artist Guillaume Marmin is influenced by experimental filmmakers. His trip installation HARA entices viewers through the continual movement between states of tension and calm. Colours of sensual reds are moody and very sultry much like the Cabernet Franc.
If you looking for something unique to do with friends or date night, this is worth checking out. VQA Into The Vine is in Toronto for this weekend only (November 10-12). Location is at 571 Adelaide Street East. Tickets are $25 online and $30 (Cash only at the door. More details and to book tickets visit Wine Country Ontario’s event page.
