Rain Paintings and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest

Who hasn’t been entranced by how falling rain changes the look of any familiar scene into something still recognizable, yet other than normal? Van Gogh tramped the fields around his last home, the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, commenting in his letters to his brother, Theo, on how beautiful those fields were. They inspired some 70 paintings in the brief time that he lived there, making residents comment on the frenetic pace at which he created. Unfortunately as the spring of 1890 passed, Van Gogh became increasingly despondent. I have not found any specific month for the painting above, nor do I want to claim that the artist painted this beautiful piece while in despair. However, it does come from the time he spent in Auvers and is one in which his beloved fields, normally full of sun, are being drenched in rain.

Yet, how exciting it must have been to see that difference from his usual view of those fields. Van Gogh seems to focus the painting on the contrast between the normally golden rolling fields with the stands of trees and the blue-violent curtain of falling rain. Those distant trees and rocks that run through the center of the picture are consumed by the blue-violet. Beyond that strip of colorful blues, the next field of golden grain is being pelted by this strong rain. I say strong because of the forceful, sharp downward strokes of violet that he uses to show that falling rain. Beyond that golden field, we see the sky as a thin strip of blue-violet strokes. The whole picture evokes the change that rain makes in any scene, heightened by that wonderful choice of color, a blue-violet that compliments and transforms the yellow-gold of the fields. Rather symbolically, at least for us now who know so much of Van Gogh’s life and struggles, one lone black crow, in defiance of the storm, flies low over the fields.

Van Gogh like many of the artists in the late 19th century were much influenced by the woodblock prints that were coming out of Japan. Claude Monet had a living room full of them, made by famous Japanese print makers. In fact, on any visit to Monet’s home in Giverny, there might be a tour bus of Japanese tourists who have come to see the prints made by their master print makers, which can now only be seen in Monet’s home. One thing for sure, there is a lot of rain in Japan, and their artists took note of how to represent it.

We see here those strong strokes indicating the hard falling rain that influenced Van Gogh’s work. The storm cloud is a threatening bundle of boiling black, and the suddenness of the storm is shown by those who may have had only a hat or the bundle they were carrying with which to cover themselves. Hiroshige uses an assortment of blues, like a deep violet/navy that fades to a sky blue to indicate the depth of the waters and the shadows under the bridge. The waters then spread out into a bay of light jade green, where we find one lone boatman guiding his craft, and without the protection of cover, getting thoroughly soaked. The bridge itself is a bright golden yellow which draws our attention to it. Yet the thing that is most intriguing is the disequilibrium caused by the curve in that bridge that runs at a diagonal across the bottom of the print and the opposing diagonal of the shoreline that runs across the top. Diagonal lines disrupt. Here it is as if the distorted views of people hunched over and scurrying as they try to avoid the pelting rain has unbalanced the view of the land and the familiar landmark of the bridge. The feeling is one of topsy turvy, hurry scurry.

No one can say for sure that those prints of rain from Japan were the influence that prompted him to do his rain painting in Auvers. However, one can imagine that when he saw the beautiful fields near Auvers in a downpour, those Japanese scenes may have passed through his mind. Whatever the inspiration, it leaves us with an enchanting reminder that not every day has to be a sunny day in order to be beautiful.

Paintings by Van Gogh are in Public Domain

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com

The Wineries of the Rain-swept Pacific Northwest.

Okay, let’s get clear on one thing: it doesn’t rain all the time everywhere in the Pacific Northwest – just most of the time. No! Just kidding. In fact eastern Washington is quite arid and known for its warm days and cool nights, good for producing a riper fruitier taste in wine. The Columbia River snakes down from Canada and curves its way through east central Washington before dividing Washington from Oregon on its way to the sea. The Columbia River Valley has helped make Washington State the second largest wine growing state. It all got started when the Columbia Basin Project began to irrigate some two million acres of land around 1952. That attracted a number of farmers including those who grew grapes for wine. It has allowed Washington to be more diverse in varieties of grapes than its neighbor, Oregon. It was also a rather profitable venture for many of those vintners, as Washington State laws let licensed distributors sell wine directly to the public (no need for the Liquor Control Board) if the wine was made from grapes grown in Washington State. So let’s see where that takes us.

In Washington one name always stands out, and that is Chateau Ste. Michelle. Started as the American Wine Company in 1954, it has morphed into a wine and cultural phenomenon. Not only does its produce high quality red wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah) but also fine whites (Chardonnay, Riesling, and Gewurtztraminer ). Located on 82 acres in Woodinville (near Seattle), it maintains a lovely French style Chateau and has applied itself not only to fine wine, but also to cultural events. Every summer it has a popular concert series, where one may picnic on the lawn while enjoying jazz, for instance. As well, the Chateau has an events calendar full of wine tasting opportunities throughout the year. www.ste-michelle.com

However, the Chateau is not the only valuable player in Washington wines. Out along Highway 82 near Paterson, Washington, in the celebrated Horse Heaven Hills area, one finds Columbia Crest Winery. Producing a variety of grapes, it uses old world craftsmanship to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a 95+ score and was Wine of the Year in the Wine Spectator, 2005. It also has a Merlot that was listed in the top 100 wines in 2007,#16 in fact. www.columbiacrest.com

The vintner, Brad Binko, says that he wants to make wines that are true to the place. He makes them differently every year in order to honor the variations that come from one year to another and “to be true to the grapes.” All of those wines have names that start with Eternal. I have not yet tasted them, but Eternal Bliss made with Grenache grapes sounds refreshingly divine, though I am devilishly tempted by Eternal Darkness – a fantasy from Syrah grapes. www.eternalwine.com

Of course, one need not travel in order to enjoy the fine wines of the region and of the world. In 1999 Mark and Holly Ihrig began partnering with local and international wine makers to present wines for sale through a digital storefront. Using the format of a wine club, they have created a series of clubs specializing in everything from West Coast Wines, International Wines, Sparkling Wines to just Red Wines. Not only do they offer an excellent selection of wines, but they have a “No Bad Bottle” return policy, free shipping, and the possibility to have 15% of your purchase donated to a vetted charity. You can take a look at information on Cellars Wine Club by clicking on that page in the right-hand column or go to www.cellarswineclub.com

Must Washington Take All the Glory?

Of course not, because just to the south is Oregon. While Washington has lots of varieties, Oregon has become known as a “monograpist” region, specializing in Pinot Noir, that wonderful, food friendly, easily drinkable red that comes from the Pinot Noir grape. The Willamette Valley proved to be a perfect growing area for that grape, and the rest is history. Mostly on the western side of the I-5 Interstate from Portland to Cottage Grove, wineries abound, see www.oregonwinecountry.org for the map and the names of the wineries.

“French Soul, Oregon Soil” yes, that is the motto of Domaine Drouhin, where they produce their wines with the same methods they use to produce their wines in France (Burgundy to be precise). Located in the Dundee Hills that overlook the Willamette Valley near Dayton, Oregon, the Drouhin family creates some of the finest Pinot Noir and a top notch Chardonnay. www.domainedrouhin.com

But what is wine without food? Well, Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Oregon, is of the opinion that wine must be complimented by culinary delights. The winery has a complete kitchen to go with their wine tasting rooms, and for those who wish to soak in the atmosphere, there are also two guest suites for those who may wish to stay in the vineyards proper. However, for those who are just stopping by, there are daily wine and food pairings, and everything is made with local ingredients. www.wvv.com

One of the most unusual wine producers is André Hueston Mack, of whom I wrote in the Of Art and Wine post “Red Wine in Summer: Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party” (September, 2019). The story of his Maison Mouton Noir wines gets more and more interesting. Mack does not own vineyards, but instead works with a variety of Willamette Valley growers to select the grapes for his wines which bear names like Knock On Wood (Chardonnay), Love Drunk (Rosé), and Other People’s Pinot (Noir). Mack is an absolute original and also a very experienced sommelier, recognized in France by the Chaine des Rotisseurs, a gastronomic society. But don’t let that make you think he is stuffy. Oh no, his desire is to bring hip-hop culture to wine making. For insight into how he developed his life as a Mouton Noir (Black Sheep), his talk at TEDxMarthas Vineyard is fun and inspirational https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOsjFC9D76g or go to his website www.andremack.com

So just because it rains often in the Northwest, it does not mean that everything is soggy and every day dark and miserable. Oh no, there are lots of good drinkable things being produced there. It’s definitely an area to consider for an extensive wine tour. So in the words of one of André Mack’s wines, Bottoms Up!

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©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming Soon on Of Art and Wine: Titian and the Wines of the Veneto.