Can artists make wine?

Sure we could have the vineyard, grow the grapes, pick the grapes, etc., etc. But for artists, we can take a little short cut.

We can buy other people’s wine and just make fun new labels. And in spite of what wine snobs will try to tell us, isn’t the best way to pick a wine based on the label? I admit to being a sucker for any $10 bottle of wine with a good lucking label. Should not wine also be a visual experience?

Now, when you repurpose a bottle for your own label, the trick is to choosing the wine. As you’ll probably be gifting the bottle at some smart dinner party, here are three basic rules to keep in mind:

1) Never go for the $2 bottle, because if ever they decided to drink it…

2) Never spend too much. Because what if they don’t drink it, it goes to waste. And why buy some impressive bottle that you’re putting a new label on?

3)The ideal price is $6 on sale. Drinkable but forgettable.

So this recent occasion was for a friend who is a recovering mormon and Broadway devotee who also just finished a thesis on Don Quixote. Start with the iconic Man of La Mancha poster. The one designed by Picasso himself. A bit of image searching and a bit of photoshop and you have this swell vintage called Mormons of La Mancha. It pairs well with jello salad and anything containing a lot of mayonnaise.

So yes, artists can make wine.