Nothing beats a night of discovering art and wine. Last week, Allegrini, a leading wine producer in the Valpolicella Classico area in the northeastern Italian region of the Veneto, celebrated the 30th anniversary of their most acclaimed single vineyard wines. The celebration took place at the Guggenheim Museum, where guests were able to check out the recently opened exhibition by James Turrell. Among those in attendance were Jeff Porter of Del Posto, Dino Borri of Eataly and Guiseppe Rosati of Felidia.
The evening started off as guests wandered into the infamous Guggenheim where they had the chance to look up in wonder at James Turrell’s first exhibit in a New York museum since 1980. The exhibit, Aten Reign, took a year to complete and recasts the Guggenheim rotunda, giving a different experience of the building, playing with perception, light, color and space. The giant rotunda changes colors and plays upon both natural and artificial light. The exhibit will be on display until September 25th and is definitely worth checking out.
The ever-changing colors gave for a great backdrop to the wine-lovers’ celebration. Allegrini’s most acclaimed single vineyard wines are La Grola and La Poja. La Grola ($30) is a Veronese classic blend of 80% Corvina Veronese, 10% Oseleta and 10% Syrah, with notes of tobacco, coffee and wild berries. According to local legend, La Grola, which means crow, is the birthplace of the Corvina grape. To repay a kind farmer for mending its wing, the crow turned all of the white grapes black to match its feathers, thus creating the grape. The legend is depicted on a new, limited edition label on the 2010 vintage of La Grola, rendered by famed Italian artist Milo Manara. Additionally, La Poja ($87) is the first and only vineyard planted with 100% Corvina grapes. The wine has notes of blackberries, spice and dark chocolate and has a nice, rich taste. Even for those who are not red wine fans, these two wines have a great, smooth taste and do not disappoint.
So if you’re into either art or wine (or both!), we’ve got you covered with some exciting things to check out this summer!
