The Gallery at Cliff Lede Vineyards Partners with Noted I. Wolk Gallery in St. Helena to Curate Collection
New Shows Come to Napa Just-in-Time for Summer and Harvest Travel
(Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, Calif., May 24, 2007)—Cliff Lede Vineyards has partnered with the noted I. Wolk Gallery in St. Helena which will now curate shows at The Gallery at Cliff Lede Vineyards. Ira Wolk will curate three to four exhibits per year at the winery’s contemporary gallery, allowing wine country visitors to have a unique venue to experience the multi-faceted beauty of the Napa Valley. Just-in-time for summer and harvest travel, the winery announces two new shows which will bring notable art to one of Napa’s newest destination luxury wineries.
“Images from the Garden”—Memorial Day-July 2007
The first show curated by the I. Wolk Gallery will open on Memorial Day weekend and will run through the end of July. Entitled “Images from the Garden,” the show will feature nine artists’ renditions of botanical imagery. The artists are curated from Wolk’s gallery roster and include photographer Brigitte Carnochan, watercolorist Pamela Glasscock, ceramic sculptor Robert Kvenild, photographer Willis Lee, watercolorist Lisa Livoni, painter Forrest Moses, watercolorist Woodward Payne and pastelist Robert Peterson. 25 pieces will be shown and prices will range from $325 up to $10,000.
“Vessels”—August-September 2007
Summer’s second show, “Vessels,” will run from the beginning of August through the end of September, and focuses on various artists’ nautical interpretations. The show will have approximately 15 pieces with prices ranging from $1,500-$12,000. Show highlights include Bay Area native Bruce Lauritzen who has painted and sailed his entire life, offering his own stamp on nautical art. Sculpture/assemblage artist Monty Monty collects a range of objects everywhere from garage sales to antique stores and cleverly assembles the elements into remarkable sculptural statements.
Of the new relationship curating shows at Cliff Lede Vineyards, Ira Wolk commented "The association with Cliff Lede Vineyards is enormously exciting, as I appreciate the high quality of Cliff Lede wines and the same high level of attention expressed throughout the entire winery experience. Additionally, I have great respect for Proprietor Cliff Lede for his personal love of and commitment to fine art, sharing it with visitors and staff alike by displaying sculpture and other media throughout the winery.”
Cliff Lede added, “We are very proud to work with Ira Wolk. He is an important figure in the wine country art world, and he and his gallery will enable us to offer new exhibitions throughout the year.”
For more information about individual artists featured in the shows, please visit www.iwolkgallery.com. Parties interested in acquiring work from The Gallery at Cliff Lede Vineyards should contact Ira Wolk at 707-963-8800.
The Gallery at Cliff Lede Vineyards
The Gallery resides in the winery’s original fermentation room. With concrete floors, crisp walls, and clean lines, the space emulates the contemporary spaces of the galleries of Chelsea in New York. The room has an abundance of natural light, an oversized door of glass, steel and wood, bringing a modern feel to the rural calm that the Cliff Lede experience offers. The Gallery is open to the public from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily.
Additional permanent art at Cliff Lede Vineyards includes Keith Haring’s untitled sculpture of three dancing figures, Jim Dine’s “Twin 6’ Hearts” and “Asaf & Yo’ah” by Boaz Vaadia. Outside the Gallery, Lynn Chadwick’s bronze sculpture “High Wind IV” sets the stage for the contemporary gallery’s U-shaped space.
About I. Wolk Gallery
Founded in St. Helena in 1991 by Ira Wolk, the I. Wolk Gallery was established for viewers and collectors alike with the mission of enhancing, enriching and enlivening people's lives with fine art. Committed to showing the highest quality paintings, works on paper, photography and sculpture by emerging, mid-career and established artists from across America, the gallery features a range of imagery—from abstraction to representation.
Ira Wolk has been in the gallery business for 32 years and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in both art history and fine art photography. Originally from Chicago from a family which valued and collected fine art, Wolk taught fine art photography and was a practicing photographer prior to being in the gallery business.
The gallery is a member of the prestigious San Francisco Art Dealers Association and has locations at 1354 Main St. in St. Helena, at Cliff Lede Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of Napa, Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford and MacArthur Place in Sonoma. Open daily, the gallery and its installations at some of wine countries top properties features changing shows. For more information about the I. Wolk Gallery, please visit www.iwolkgallery.com or contact Ira Wolk at 707-963-8800.
About Cliff Lede Vineyards
The winery was established in 2002, when Canadian businessman Cliff Lede purchased 60 acres of vineyards in the famed Stags Leap District. In the following years, Lede formed an unrivaled team to make the most of this remarkable property. First onboard was noted viticulturist David Abreu, known for his work with Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Araujo and Bryant. Michelle Edwards, who had fashioned the previous three vintages at Colgin, was then hired as Winemaker. Consultant Michel Rolland, recognized for his contributions to such famed estates as Ornellaia, Harlan and Château Le Bon Pasteur, was then retained.
Completed in time for crush 2005, the new state-of-the-art gravity-flow winery boasts a berry-by-berry sorting system and conical tanks commissioned using a design borrowed from Château Latour. One tank per vineyard block ensures each lot evolves at its own pace and acres of caves with single-layer barrel storage ensure access to each barrel at all times. No corner has been cut.
The winery produces Sauvignon Blanc, Claret and Cabernet Sauvignon. The flagship, Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon, is crafted from the steep hillside portion of the estate.
For more information about the Gallery at Cliff Lede Vineyards,
please contact C. Milan Communications at 415.392.6600.