Pairing Sparkling Wine with Art

What’s your favourite sparkling wine and art pairing?

Below are some of the best types of sparkling wines to enjoy while discovering these popular art styles.

Renaissance

Renaissance painting is a style of art that emphasises realistic portrayals of people and nature. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are two of the most famous paintings in the world. They are considered to be the most iconic paintings of the Renaissance. Pair with Champagne, which is rich and complex in flavours and aromas, smooth, creamy and persistent.

Impressionism

Impressionist paintings featured vibrant colours and the impression of a subject rather than details. Claude Monet is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Impressionism. Monet loved to paint in the open air and capture in his paintings the natural light. His most famous paintings are Impression, Sunrise and the Water Lilies series. Pair with Rosé Champagne, it’s pretty, elegant and complements this style of painting.

Expressionism

Expressionist paintings convey emotions and inner experiences through distorted forms, intense colors, and free brushwork. Vincent Van Gogh is the artist who almost single-handedly brought a greater sense of emotional depth to painting. In that way, he can truly be called the father of Expressionism. His most famous paintings are Starry Night and Sunflowers. Pair with Franciacorta, a sparkling wine from Italy with complex flavours that include notes of fruit, flowers, bread, and yeast that will complement the depth of the paintings.

Surrealism

Surrealist painting is a style of artwork that aims to depict dreamlike, often bizarre and illogical imagery by combining unexpected objects or situations. Salvador Dalí is one of the most famous Surrealist artists today. The melting clocks in Persistence of Memory is one of Dali‘s most famous and reproduced images. Pair with Crémant, a sparkling wine, which is rich and creamy that will complement this rich style of painting.

Baroque

Baroque paintings explored powerful emotions and tended to represent saints and rulers in a relatable manner. Widely regarded as one of the greatest paintings of the Dutch Baroque era, The Night Watch is also perhaps the best known work by Rembrandt. Another notable and well known Baroque painting is Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. Pair with English sparkling wine, which is fruity, crisp and refreshing with notes of apple, pear and brioche, the complex nature of the wine will complement the powerful emotions of this style of painting.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau painting emphasises flowing, organic curves inspired by nature, often with intricate designs. Two of the most famous Art Nouveau paintings are Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous piece, At the Moulin Rouge and The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Pair with Sekt made in Germany or Austria, which will usually be crisp, fruity and refreshing, to complement this style of art.

Cubism

Cubism is a style of painting that uses geometric shapes and multiple viewpoints to create fragmented, abstract images. Pablo Picasso is considered the father of Cubist art. Guernica is not only Picasso’s best-known work, it’s one of the most famous (and Google-searched) paintings in the world. Pair with South African sparkling wines, also known as Méthode Cap Classique (MCC), which have notes of toast, yeast, bread dough, and nuts along with chalky or flinty aromas, which will pair well with the multi-level style of painting.

Abstract

Abstract art does not aim to provide an accurate depiction of reality. Instead, it uses elements such as shapes and colours to capture the essence of objects or to create art that has no direct connection to reality. Wassily Kandinsky is credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in Western art. Jackson Pollock was the father of abstract expressionism and the creator of the ‘dripping’ technique. Helen Frankenthaler is considered to be one of the most influential female painters in modern history, she is known for her Color Field paintings. Pair with Argentinian sparkling wine, which is fruity, vibrant and refreshing, to complement this refreshing style of painting.

Pop Art

Pop Art uses bold colours, iconic imagery and mass-produced objects. Andy Warhol’s distinctive style of repetition, bright colours and screen-printing became synonymous with the Pop Art movement. His iconic works included the Campbell’s Soup Cans and the Marilyn Monroe portraits. Pair with an Australian Sparkling Red Shiraz, its vibrant, deep, full-bodied, rich wine with ripe and intense fruit flavours will pair well with the bold colours.