The Artist
Visionary wine requires
artistry of all kinds.
When you see the intricate linework and detail embedded in the artwork that graces our bottles, it’s hard to imagine that it all starts with a black square—but it’s true. And it’s also true that the age-old scratchboard approach felt to us like a fitting way to represent the rich, hand-hewn history that inspired the stories behind The Mill Keeper.
The illustrator, Mark Summers, built an illustrious career over the past three decades by restoring classic scratchboard techniques to popularity. Once a popular medium in printed advertisements and publications, scratchboard illustration had become essentially obsolete by the mid 1970s. Only the finely skilled hand of an artist like Summers—equipped with his scratchboard knife—could carve out a new life for the method.
Summers is perhaps best known for his work for Barnes and Noble, where the walls were lined with the results of his decade-long collaboration with the book seller and showcased portraits of famous authors masterfully rendered by his own pen and knife. He has been awarded over 350 national and international awards for his work with global brands that range from Rolling Stone magazine to the United States Postal Service.
As a homage to the pioneering spirit of Napa’s first settlers, the Gamble family commissioned illustrator Mark Summers for the Mill Keeper artwork to reflect the virtues of hard work and dedication. The result of this vision and vigor brings the agrarian bounty of the Napa region to consumers in the United States and throughout the globe.
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As a small wine brand, we have the freedom to focus on every detail, no matter how nuanced or seemingly insignificant.