Wine made from 12 grapes

[Mike Buckley]

When I saw this wine I absolutely had to buy it because I had never drunk a wine made from more than 5 grapes and this one is made from 12. The Italian brand of the wine, 12 uve, means 12 grapes. (I've read about one other wine made from more than that but I've never seen it.)

The music in the background is the choral score of Bach's Mass in B Minor. I included it in the scene not just because of the music notation displayed on the wine's front label but also because of the indication on the rear label that each of the 12 grapes is associated with one of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale.

I made this photo in one capture. A medium lamp was placed in the right rear shining to the rear where a large off-white reflector bounced the light back into the scene.

[Shadowman]

Nice composition and capture.

[TonyW]

A nice image but I wondered about the light patches on the right.

Before I read what you had written I picked the music for Bach. I should have guessed what it is from the key. But wouldn't some twelve tone music from Schoenberg have been more appropriate or even one of the books of the 48 preludes and fugues or even the 24 from Shostakovich - not very Italian though, any of these. Associating musical notes with grapes must be the Italian version of synesthesia.

Are the 12 grape varieties all Italian? I couldn't name that many of Italian grapes until I looked them up.

[ST1]

First of all Mike what was the wine like to drink as opposed to photographing it.

I admire your sense of adventure, especially with your broken glass images, take care with that. I like the composition of this image, though I have to admit that the music went over my head. I can see that you have had to use a wedge to keep the two/three horizontal bottles in place, would it have been possible to rotate the nearer bottle so that its label wasn't that little bit obscured . I suspect that you would have had to rotate both of the visible horizontal bottles to keep the label separation IYSWIM

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

I wondered about the light patches on the right.

I've seen so many styles of reflections used to help define the shape of a bottle and to add interest that it's very understandable that not everyone is going to like all types. This style works for me for this image but that's not to say that I wouldn't enjoy other styles at least as much.

Before I read what you had written I picked the music for Bach. I should have guessed what it is from the key. But wouldn't some twelve tone music from Schoenberg have been more appropriate or even one of the books of the 48 preludes and fugues or even the 24 from Shostakovich - not very Italian though, any of these.

Good ideas!

For those unlike you who don't know, Bach's Mass in B Minor is widely considered one of the great masterpieces of western music. The movement shown in the photo is Cum Sancto Spiritu, which is a very fast, bright, exhilarating section in D Major. Both the Mass and this movement are favorites of mine.

However, that doesn't explain why I included it in the scene. I considered Stravinsky's Suite Italienne and Bach's Italian Concerto (also favorites of mine) but don't have the scores. I didn't think about the appropriateness of Bach's preludes and fugues or Chopin's preludes and I had actually forgotten about Shostakovitch's, perhaps because I don't like them nearly as much. I very briefly considered 12-tone music but even if I had had a score, I wouldn't have used it because I have never heard a piece of 12-tone music that I enjoyed. I have a few other full scores of Bach's music and music of other composers but all of them are printed in a miniature size that would have been too small.

In the end, the decision to use this exact score was made because I quickly and accidentally came upon my wife's copy of it, because the music is a favorite of ours on many levels and because the publication is an ideal size. I opened it to approximately the middle so it would stand up on its own. I then refined the particular pages to be displayed by selecting two pages that display a lot of notes. I admit that I didn't use a process involving a lot of thought but I felt that was unnecessary considering the supporting rather than starring role of the music.

synesthesia

Thanks for teaching me that word!

Are the 12 grape varieties all Italian?

Yes, but that in itself doesn't mean much. Italy commercially grows more wine grapes than any country in the world. I've read that Italy has more than 400 regulated wine grapes. The grapes used in this wine are:

25% Brunello and Morellino (both are types of Sangiovese)
20% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Cesanese (new to me)
10% Syrah
8% Petit Verdot
6% Merlot
6% Ancelotta (new to me)
5% Alicante
4% Cabernet Franc
3% Tannat
3% Canaiolo

[Mike Buckley]

what was the wine like to drink

Very smooth, medium-bodied, more tannic than acidic but nicely balanced. Considering the large number of grapes, surprisingly lacking in layers. Perhaps because of the large number of grapes, lacking in character. Pleasing overall but nothing to write home about. If you were hoping I would describe the aromas or flavors, I have a terrible nose and rarely detect individual flavors in white wine and never in red wine. My wife likes the wine more than I do.

I can see that you have had to use a wedge to keep the two/three horizontal bottles in place, would it have been possible to rotate the nearer bottle so that its label wasn't that little bit obscured .

I don't mind that the label you mentioned is partly obscured, especially because only one small part of the white background and music staff can't be seen. Just the opposite, I think the image would have been a bit static if the entire label had been visible. Similarly, I intentionally positioned the label on the primary subject so it is not centered on the bottle and instead is turned a bit toward the other bottles. Just my thinking.

You might have noticed that the wedge, which is made of silicon, is reminiscent of the color of red wine and in the shape of a wine bottle. You can't see the companion wedge on the other side of the three bottles but the pair of wedges is designed to hold ten bottles in place (four on the bottom row, three on the row next row up, two on the next row above that and one on the top). I'm especially glad to include it in the photo because good friends gave the wedges to my wife and me over a year ago and this is the first time I've photographed either wedge or used them to make a photo.

[NorthernFocus]

This is probably my favorite of your wine bottle shots so far, Mike. Really a creative set up.

Those must be some big grapes to get a whole bottle of wine from twelve of them

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Dan!

Those must be some big grapes to get a whole bottle of wine from twelve of them

Very good!

[Rita]

I think this is really beautiful and I love the touch of adding the score to it.

[Mike Buckley]

Glad you like it, Rita!

[chauncey]

The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance.

Subconscious or not, the allusion to an Adam's quote is a stellar idea, for it makes the image.
You're seeing the score as well as the resulting performance, well done my friend!

[Mike Buckley]

Subconscious or not, the allusion to an Adam's quote is a stellar idea

Sadly, the idea never entered my mind.

[Brownbear]

It's beautiful, as always... I adore the composition..However, my favourites of your wine bottles are still your wine carafes (white and red wine being poured), and the white wine bottles with the golden backgrounds, and the champagne bottle with gold... Exquisite!

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina! Some of your favorites are also mine. I made most of those in 2014, so that was a very good year for me.