Michele StuevenLA-based visual artist Alexandra Grant and her art and design initiative, grantLOVE have created a new sparkling wine, LOVE Wine in collaboration with J Vineyards and Winery and transformed the energy of the Healdsburg winery lobby as an homage to Women’s History Month in March.
The bubbly creation is a labor of love between the Northern California winery’s Estate Director, Nicole Hitchcock and Grant, who share the same desire to amplify voices that are often marginalized while also transforming the act of enjoying wine into an experience that connects culture, creativity, and community.
Courtesy J Vineyard and Winery
The brut cuvée was crafted from cool-climate vineyards throughout California, including the Russian River Valley, Monterey County, and Mendocino County, all crushed at J Vineyards’ Healdsburg, California winery.
Each new bottling of LOVE Wine features a unique label made in collaboration with a leading female-identified artist, turning every bottle into a canvas that celebrates artistic expression. The label for the inaugural bottling was designed by Genevieve Gaignard, a New York-based interdisciplinary artist. The lobby of the Healdsburg tasting room has been adorned with her artwork, including a self-portrait and whimsical wall of found vintage hand mirrors entitled “Do You Only Want to See What You Believe?
A trailblazer in the typically male-dominated wine industry and overseeing a majority-women team charting new territories in the wine industry, Hitchcock earned the title of Winemaker of the Year in 2022. Since 1986, J Vineyards & Winery has earned a reputation as one of the top sparkling and still wine producers in California.
“There are more women winemakers since I came to the area in 2010,” Hitchcock tells LA Weekly at a wine and cheese tasting in the winery’s Legacy Lounge. “It’s so different from when it used to be. It’s still a tough business to get into and not for the faint of heart. I think what sets women apart is that we tend to be more empathetic towards one another and welcoming of different opinions and ideas, wanting to collaborate. When I was a super young winemaker, it was really intimidating to sit down with those with a lot of experience. You can either be really quiet or give your thoughts and opinions on things like blending decisions.”
Do You Only Want to See What You Believe? (Michele Stueven)
Legacy Lounge, J Vineyard (Michele Stueven)
Not your mom’s cheese platter (Michele Stueven)