Grape Anticipation No. 5 : Page 23
“I left six paintings in the first gallery in Napa Valley, and they sold them all overnight. I mean, they never even made it to the wall.” – Thomas Arvid which Arvid calls the best wine he’s ever tasted. Incidentally, critic Robert Parker called Harlan’s 1997 Cabernet-dominated Bordeaux blend “one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines I have ever tasted,” and awarded it 100 points, his highest rating. “It’s not even fair to call that wine,” Arvid said. “I’ve tasted it several times since, just to see if it was really that good.” It always is, he said. To some, it may seem strange that wine has played such a central role in the life of a man born into a blue-collar Detroit family. In his 2008 film “Gran Torino,” Clint East- wood plays a retired Detroit autoworker who quaffs Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and sprays racial epithets like bullets. With a beat-up Detroit as a backdrop, wine picnics are nowhere to be seen. Arvid’s father knows the automobile industry well; he worked as a foreman in a General Motors factory. All of Arvid’s sib- lings are still in Detroit. His older brother operates heavy equipment, and his younger brother works with vending machines and does custom welding. His sister works as a dental assistant. Neither art nor wine is prevalent in any of their professions, at least as they exist in Detroit. But to Arvid it all makes perfect sense. “Now that I can look back at how it all happened, it’s really obvious,” he said. “When you go to Napa Valley, you cherish it. The scenery, everything about it. But to the people who live in Napa Valley, it’s just there. All the time, it’s a part of their everyday lives. “I truly think it took someone not from Napa Valley to kind of capture how we cherish just a bottle of wine,” he said. Perspective is an artist’s tool, and Arvid has used his to great effect. It took him out of a life that didn’t suit him and into one that did. Looking at one of Arvid’s paint- ings, someone might feel as if they’re look- ing at the world through the artist’s eyes, even if just for a few moments. The more you learn about the man, his work and his life, the more you realize how good a thing that actually is. Steve Stevens is a writer and editor and has been covering wine since 2003. Grape anticipation 23
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