Glass as Art: Randall Perkins, A Retrospect

As we enjoy wine, we do not often think of the vessel, not the barrel, but the glass.  Wine is conditioned in glass, stored in glass, decanted in glass and ultimately served in glass.  Glass, in essence, is indispensible to modern wine.  How often do you think of wine and glass as an art form, other than the craft that produces the delicious nectar one imbibes from said glass?  

Randall Perkins is a glass blower that looks beyond the normal usage of glass in relation to wine.  He takes his inspiration straight from the grape itself for his creations. His work has been exhibited locally at the Rogue Gallery and ArtCenter during last years’ Art in Bloom celebration.

Randall is a polymath, an individual who excels in multiple fields of the arts and sciences. He has studied Computer Science and is employed as a Data Warehouse Specialist, but in his spare time, he is an accomplished glass blower, cheese maker, baker and gourmet chef.  I would not be surprised if he also clogs and writes mini-operatic arias on the side.

Randall started out as a chemist in college and got into glassblowing because he was breaking so much chemical glassware. Instead of paying the fees to replace the custom glass, he learned how to blow and repair it himself.  His budding interest took him to a glass art apprenticeship in Mexico City and back to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, where he studied under famed American Glass Artist Marvin Lipofsky. It was during this time in 1979 he met Venetian glass blowing master, Gianni Toso. He moved to Venice to apprentice under Toso.  Randall ultimately returned to Northern Cali and built Pfeiffer Ridge Glass Studio in Big Sur and enjoyed life as an artist. But the reality of being a starving artist set in after five years and he returned to school to get a second degree in computer science.  

In addition to working full time and blowing glass, Randall is a devoted husband to his wife, Barb.

Barb is an AVP of Human Resources, and is also quite accomplished outside the workplace. Barb is a Certified Small Animal Massage Practitioner and owns a “paws-itively healing” company called Happy Dog Massage. 

Randall takes his inspiration from nature and Barb supplies him with plenty of inspiration. She is an accomplished gardener and has a beautiful garden at their lovely home.  Last year, Barb was selected by the American Association of UniversityWomen as one of six homes in Medford to exhibit her garden in a one day showing.  

Glass Grass

Flowers

In short, Barb is also Randall’s muse. Together they have a website, Gardens and Glass, where you can learn more about Randall, Barb and Harris (their happy furry friend). 

  

Harris

You can also see Randall’s art in person at the 7th and last show of Art for the Home & Garden in Ashland on June 6-8, at 421 Prim St., Ashland, OR. I suggest you not miss this unique experience - 2 Ashland ladies clear out their home to host  26 regional artists in a fabulous showcase.

Here is a sampling of Randall's work.

Fiddleheads

Clear Grape Clusters

Tree Sprite

Peppers

Autumn is neigh...

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, 

With summer's best of weather And autumn's best of cheer.
-Helen Hunt Jackson

Yes, Autumn is in the air. The days grow shorter and cooler, the nights crisper and the grapes... well, the grapes are well into Veraison, changing color, ripening, developing the complex sugars that will give them their wondrous flavor. The grapes sunning on the vine, enjoying the temperate nature of late summer/early fall, growing fat and fragrant.

This is a wonderful time to go wine tasting in the valley. The temperatures are comfortable, there is a buzz in the air at the wineries as harvest approaches and the colors are starting to change, the trees dressing in their autumnal plumage.

Get out, drive to one of the numerous wineries our area has to offer. It does not matter if it is a grand chateau or a little shack - explore, find the hidden treasures and experience firsthand the romance of wine. 

The Romance of Wine, it is not in the vineyard, that is farming. It is not in the winery, that is chemistry and hard work. It is not even in the tasting room, that is a commercial endeavor. It is in the glass, it is in the relationships between friends, and even strangers, in the enjoyment of the wine. 

 The wines that one best remembers are not necessarily the finest that one has ever tasted, and the highest quality may fail to delight so much as some far more humble beverage drunk in more favorable surroundings.
-H. Warner Allen

 So, my suggestion to you dear reader is to venture forth, take a Sunday drive any old day of the week, enjoy the wonderful weather and dare to experience an unknown wine. While you are there, take a look at the vineyards and imagine, if you will, the vintage that these grapes will become and the enjoyment of revisiting them in the bottle at some future date.

CHEERS

Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.

 -Ernest Hemingway

EARLY BIRDS GET THE (WINE) WORM…

The 10^th Annual World of Wine Festival will be August 22-25^th this year. A tip for all of you planning on attending- Tickets are $75, if you are a wine club member, check with your winery and see if you can get early insider tickets for $65.

For those of you who don’t know, WOW is a celebration and competition of local wines. Over 60 wineries participate; the only stipulation is the wines entered must be made from southern Oregon grapes. This means we get winemakers from all over the region involved, as well as, our local favorites.

I worked this event for a number of years as a server and arranging auction item donations and I always had a great time. When I worked the event, it was held at Del Rio Vineyards. Now they have moved to Jacksonville, where they have been able to grow the event from 1 day to a 4 day event, offering more opportunity to truly discover Southern Oregon Wines.

This is a terrific way to experience the fabulous wines that Southern Oregon has to offer. In addition to the wines, you also get a souvenir wine glass and chance to sample the area’s culinary delights- pizza, beef, jerky, cheese and chocolates in particular. There is a silent auction, raffle and wine wheel for added fun. I believe the entry fee is worth every cent.

We enjoy this event so much we have a framed collection of WOW posters hanging in our living room to commemorate the great times we have spent there.

I highly encourage you to consider the Grand Tasting Event, at the very least, on Aug. 25^th. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

http://www.worldofwinefestival.com/home

https://www.facebook.com/WorldofWineFestival

DanCin Vineyards Tasting Room

Jill and I went to the Grand Opening of DanCin Vineyards over the Memorial Day Weekend.

What a beautiful place! The Tasting room is done in a Tuscan style and there is plenty of outdoor seating surrounding the Tasting Room overlooking the gorgeous vineyards.  

DanCin currently offers Chardonnay and Pinot noir, both of which are excellent.  They also offer food (pizza!) and gourmet coffee.

As the Memorial Day weekend was jamming, we did not do a flight, instead we enjoyed a few glasses of delicious wine.  We will go back soon and do a proper review for you.

The view from the front patio facing northeast, toward Medford.

Jill in front of the Wine Cave

The sign on South Stage Road

DanCin Facebook Page

DanCin Website

CHEERS!

QUADY NORTH

We recently popped into Quady North in Jacksonville. What a fun, funky little place. From the outside, it looks like the typical turn-of-the-century building in J'Ville. Inside, it is an intimate room with whitewashed walls, modern, colorful furniture and a cool, breezy air about it. The first thing I learned- it is pronounced Qwah-Dee, not Qwāy-Dee, as I've always thought.

Jeannie took us through a tasting, I was particularly fond of the 2011 Rose`, a Syrah/Granache blend that epitomizes the “new style” of American Rose`s- clean, dry with a great nose and supple acidity. In other words, a perfect summer wine.

I got chatting with a wonderful couple from McMinnville who told us of a guy up there making oak stave furniture (from used wine barrels), in particular, an Adirondack chair that had notched arms for wine glasses- brilliant! This let to a story that owners Herb & Melanie Quady had a baby last year and had received a cradle made from a wine barrel. Wow, talk about starting them young. Future winemaker there, or at least an aficionado.

Speaking of children, Herb makes a great Syrah called 4-2,A, a term created by his daughter. Little Margaux was blending juice and water and called her concoction 4-2-A, or fourtooay (she thought of chardonnay, Cabernet, Viognier). If not winemaking, she has a bright future in marketing.

One last trick I learned- if using a wine barrel as a planter, put plastic gallon jugs on the bottom as fill to make the planter lighter. This still gives you plenty of soil. I wish I thought of that before I planted my tomatoes. But, luckily my ½ barrel is on castors, so I can roll it into the sun for best exposure.

Here is a tip for all you tasters. 

When you go tasting, do you rinse your glasses between tastes?  

Please don't rinse. The average taste is around an ounce, not much liquid at all.  

When you rinse, water is left in the glass due to the adhesive nature of water.  Enough is left to dilute your next sample of wine.

 

Most wineries pour from lightest to heaviest wines, so you should not have to rinse between tastes. If the wines leave some stuff (we call this MOG- matter other than grapes) in the glass, you should either rinse it with the next wine or ask for a new glass.  Same thing if you happen to go backwards from a heavier to lighter wine, say from a cab to a Pinot noir. 

If you've had a dessert wine, get a new glass before venturing on.

Another factor to consider is the chlorine in water, it can affect the taste of your wine.  Generally you don't have to worry about this when glasses are washed, they are normally left to air dry and the chlorine blows off quickly.

Well, until next time...

Try something new this week.

CHEERS!

The Egyptians were the first to make glass containers around 1500 B.C.E.