J.A. Tan’s Painting Featured on Italian Wine Label

In the world of wine, labels are not only a way to identify a particular bottle, but they also convey the winemaker’s story and the philosophy behind their wines. The story behind Italian winemaker Monteocorneo 570’s Albe wine goes all the way to the Philippines! That’s right for their newly-released Greccheto Passito dessert wine, they used J.A. Tan’s painting “Rice Fields,” on the label. 

Filipino-Canadian artist with autism, J.A. Tan says this about his acrylic on canvas painting “Rice Fields:”

“Visiting the Philippines at one time, we were passing rice fields as the sun was just about to rise. And, this image is what stuck in my memory. It felt like a mystical moment and I felt lucky to be able to see colors that no one else could see with the naked eye. The play of light on the fields for me seemed like angels playing around. A moment so difficult to describe in words…so creating a painting was the best homage I could do for this beautiful scenery in my country of birth.”

Montecorneo, 570 is a small winery in Perugia, Umbria in Italy.  According to their website, they follow the principles of organic farming in vineyard management. Their wines do not follow an a priori oenological protocol, they say “We do not add ingredients to the grapes, but we accompany them in the transformation in each vintage. The must is the mirror of the soil. We create the ideal scenography to turn the grape into wine, leaving it as the only protagonist. “

The bright colors and serene mood of “Rice Fields” by J.A. Tan are a perfect match for “Albe” greccheto passito dessert wine.  Greccheto is a grape variety  is a white Italian wine grape variety of Greek origins. It is planted throughout central Italy, particularly in the Umbria region.