If art truly is in the eye of the beholder, then one’s preference in wine must be in the palate of the imbiber.
That may have been the opinion shared by those fortunate enough to enjoy Friday’s wine-tasting fundraiser to benefit the Orion Art Center.
When a personal invitation to the event arrived last week via Art Center Director Reggie Harrison, I wondered if my reputation had somehow preceded me.
After all, I’m new in town and had made every effort to limit my public intake of beverages to hot tea, coffee and an occasional Coke.
How could Reggie have so quickly sized me up as someone who would enjoy an evening out with a bunch of people who like to talk incessantly while sampling fine wine and listening to music.
Being neither a consossieur of fine wine nor fine art, I nevertheless accepted the invitation in hopes of meeting some new people, and of course, to taste (not gulp) some great wines, complements of Dean Rondy of Oxford Wine & Beverage.
The event took place at the lovely waterfront home of Cindi and Steve Danton, who were most-gracious hosts and even seemed to turn a blind eye to the slight spill that occurred somewhere in the vicinity of the meat balls.
Needless to say, a great time was had by all. And the worthy beneficiary is the Orion Art Center whose support was further bolstered by the generous group of wine and art enthusiasts.
From the tone of the lively conversation offered up by the attendees, the Orion art community is alive and well and blessed with some very interesting art lovers. That’s assuming most were there to support the arts and not just for the wine.
No matter, the wine mixed perfectly with the interesting personalities, friendly chatter and appropriate background music provided by singer-guitarist Mark Martin.
Mark even allowed me to throw in some harmonies on a couple of his selections. Although I can’t understand why he kept raising the microphone, incrementally, to the point where I had to stand on my tiptoes to be heard.
Friday’s wine tasting wasn’t the first chance I’d had to check out the local culture and cuisine. I think I’ve been to just about every eating establishment in town, with the exception of Paparazzi whose parking lot was too busy to get near on Friday night.
I find all the eateries to be good.
But it’s not all about drinking and eating for yours truly . Last weekend I got hoodwinked into doing a little Country-style line dancing at a certain downtown establishment. That is until I found myself relegated by the dance instructor to the corner of the dance floor — after stepping on a few toes.
It’s that darn right and left stuff that gets me every time.
Or maybe it was the wine.