Italian artist turns wine into art in Nairobi workshop

Rita began painting with wine in 2013 while working in communications for wine companies. As a part-time artist, she was curious about combining her knowledge of wine with her passion for painting to create unique art. She explored the possibility, loved it and decided to become a full-time wine artist.

In Rita's view, painting with wine immortalises it, unlike drinking wine and forgetting about it once it's gone.

She sources the wines from her home-town in the Langhe area of Piedmont, Italy, which is well known for producing Barolo wine. Barolo is often lauded as the "king of wines" because of its high acidity levels from tannins and its complex aromas of rose, tar, cherry and truffle.

"I use Barolo, Barbaresco, and Salcheto wines. I use these different wines for different colours. Each wine has a specific colour and purpose.”

Interestingly, wine art isn’t as popular in her hometown as one might expect.

"I am not the only one who uses wine for art. I am neither the first nor the last, but from what I know, there are about 20 of us in the region. Every wine-producing country has its own wine artists, but there aren't as many as you would expect."

Rita’s style has its own peculiar flair. She only uses pure wine as her medium and hand-made paper of 100 percent cotton that has not been chemically treated, making it acid-free.

This is important, she says, because it helps keep the wine on the paper. Due to wine's evolutionary nature, it changes colour over time, even when kept in a cellar.

She says the nature of the paper allows her images to look more refreshing over time.

The event at Ikigai was fully booked, with classes happening in the evening in the café area. Rita was very hands-on, ensuring participants interacted with the wine and paper to discover its versatility as a medium.

Wine can be quite messy as it spreads across the paper and dries in erratic patterns. Forming images with it the way Rita does is more complex than it appears. By the end of the class, most of the participants' sketches looked like hurriedly scribbled doodles by a three-year-old.

Velma Mareba, whose weekly routine involves attending creative events in Nairobi, was impressed by the wine art class.

"I heard about the event through a newsletter I subscribe to. It looked fun and different, so I decided to sign up. I didn’t know you could use wine to paint, let alone create beautiful portraits. It was also interesting to learn that not all wines work for this technique; the cheaper ones won't produce the same results as the ones sourced from the artist's hometown, which are quite expensive. The session helped ignite my creativity," she said.

Rasto Cyprian, a Nairobi-based visual artist, enjoyed the class; it was his first time painting with wine.

“It was nice to meet new people and bond over wine and art,” he said.

Peter Achayo, a researcher who documents and archives the local art scene, attended the class, which gave him an opportunity to create art.

"Art is limitless. It's good to experience first-hand that wine can also be a medium. This class speaks to my beliefs. The greatest cities in the world aren't made of buildings or money; they're made of ideas, by people who are curious and keep pushing boundaries to find new things without being afraid. Looking at this event, we should use anything and everything to create art and have fun.”

He notes that, in recent weeks, wine and art have become unifying factors for many Nairobians.

"In fact, it has become the new karaoke. It has created a space for people to come together, not just to be entertained, but also to express themselves, connect and create memories."

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