Meyer Family Vineyards has the tradition of making a “tribute”
Chardonnay each vintage, with $5,000 going to a cause associated with the
honoree.
Over the years, the choices have certainly been eclectic. They
have ranged from Kenny McLean, a legendary rodeo rider from Okanagan Falls, to
hockey greats Steve Yzerman, Pat Quinn and Kelly Hrudey, to Olympians figure
skater Joannie Rochette and Donovan Tildesley.
That suggests that winery owners JAK and Janice Meyer have a
strong interest in sports; they have an equally strong interest in the arts.
The first two Tribute Chardonnay wines in 2006 and 2007 honoured the Emily Carr
School of Art and Design; and artist Bill Reid.
The Tribute Chardonnay in 2018 returns to honouring an artist:
West Vancouver’s Gordon Appelbe Smith, who died in January at age 100. The
winery’s donation goes to the Gordon & Marion Smith Foundation for Young
Artists.
Smith was born in Britain; his father was an amateur painter.
Smith came to Canada in 1933 with his mother and brother. They settled in
Winnipeg where he took classes at the Winnipeg School of Art.
In the Second World War, he served
overseas, working initially as an intelligence officer producing topographic
drawings. Wounded during the invasion of Sicily, he returned to Vancouver in
1944, worked in the advertising department of the Vancouver Sun and had his
first showing at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The winery’s notes on his career are as follows:
“Gordon Smith was a celebrated Canadian artist whose work can
be seen in important collections such as the National Gallery of Canada, the
Vancouver Art Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
“This dedication to the arts led Gordon to mentor young
artists including some of today’s most influential names in contemporary
Canadian art. … For the better part of his long life, he was to find time to
mentor young artists and give painting lessons to children in his
neighbourhood.
“Many often remark that Gordon’s wife Marion had two careers –
as a celebrated social worker and as Gordon’s boss. Her opinion and great eye
for art influenced Gordon; he always asked her opinion on his latest work. Her
career in Social Services for the City of Vancouver was marked by her strong
belief that supporting the arts created healthy communities. …
“Together, their tireless work and dedication over the past 50
years has strongly influenced the progression of Canadian art and helped shape
the lives of thousands of young artists.”
Some of Smith’s work, among with works by other leading
Canadian painters, can been seen at the Gordon Smith Galley in North Vancouver.
The gallery also has programs fostering art by youth.
On the same week that I was reviewing the Meyer wines, Shafer
Vineyards of California sent out one of its periodic Line on Wine
columns. The latest one offers 10 facts all about Chardonnay which, according
to Shafer, is the most widely planted white wine grape in the world.
Legend has it that Charlemagne had Chardonnay planted in
Burgundy because his wife was “fed up with the red wine stains in his beard.”
There is also an explanation for the so-called buttery flavours
in some Chardonnay wines. It comes from “diacetyl, an organic compound, [and] a
by-product of malolactic fermentation.” That fermentation converts the malic
acid in the wine to lactic acid – hence the buttery flavour.
Here are notes on the Meyer wines.
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