Pairing Art with Wine

We’ve all heard of wine and cheese pairings, but what about wine and art? Both art and wine take hold of multiple senses at once and engage those senses to create a very unique experience, so Flying Goat Cellars — which is located in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto — is bridging those worlds with a series called Wine and Culture in the Ghetto. The next event features hand-weaver Sandra Rude on April 22, and on May 13, Flying Goat will pour its acclaimed juice alongside poet Lisa McCool-Grime.

For Rude, creating unique fabric is her way of engaging the senses. She explained that her one-of-a-kind, original designs don’t have “a recipe book with patterns to use, so I create a fresh design for each weaving.” Employing a weaving device known as a jacquard loom, Rude artfully creates fabrics with unlimited design potential. She said her favorite part of weaving is the “design phase — taking an idea or an image and interpreting it in thread.”

The weavings that will be displayed on April 22 are handmade wall hangings that feature images of vineyards, trees, and flowers. Rude said that Flying Goat’s specialties of sparkling wine and pinot noir will be the perfect pairings to her artwork. The Sunday event, which goes from 2-4 p.m., is in conjunction with the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival Weekend and the annual open house at Flying Goat.

The second Wine & Culture in the Ghetto event will be held on Mother’s Day, May 13. This will feature the poetry of Lisa McCool-Grime, who plans to engage the audience with her wine — and Mother Earth–inspired poetry.

Flying Goat Cellars has been handcrafting its pinot noir since 2000 and sparkling wine since 2005. In addition to the flight of wines available for a fee, library wines and barrel tastings will also be available on these weekends.

See FlyingGoatCellars.com or call (805) 737-GOAT (4628) for more info.

For more on Sandra Rude, see sandrarude.blogspot.com or 3springshandworks.com/Textiles.htm .