Q & A With Wayne Ensrud

Q: How did you first get involved in the wine world?

WE: In 1974, a friend of mine, George, who had been the maitre d’ at the fabulous French restaurant  in Manhattan ‘Lutece’ opened  his own restaurant at Eighty-first Street and First Avenue called ‘La Residence.’  I became a regular and on one particular evening, my eyes were drawn to a ravishing dark-haired beautiful woman. George introduced us and she and I made a date for dinner. Katia was Parisian born and raised. Elegant, sophisticated, intelligent and stunning, she married the heir of a wealthy French family when she was quite young. They recently divorced so she left France for a new life in New York City. We began dating and she helped to arrange my first New York City solo exhibition at The Automation House. She then introduced me to a Dutch art collector who was a very successful oil businessman. He took a liking to my paintings and invited me to travel to his French vineyard, Chateau Bouscaut, to create paintings of the wine harvest. He arranged my travel and a ten day stay at the chateau, located just south of Bordeaux in the Graves region. I certainly enjoyed wine but had no knowledge of the industry other than the pleasure of a good vintage. Katia accompanied me on this adventure and she was a marvelous guide, companion and translator. 

Q: What was that first experience like?

WE: I’ll never forget it. It was as if we visited a fairy tale castle. Arriving at twilight in our little Deux Chevaux rental car, we turned off the main road and traveled down a wide gravel driveway lined with plane trees. Suddenly we were in an open area and saw a splendid seventeenth-century chateau with a large reflecting pool in front, truly like a fabled castle. As we approached the chateau, lights were switched on and the staff lined up in front of the entrance to greet us. We were then ushered into palatial-sized rooms where Katia and I were the only guests. I remember the dining room was immense. We felt very alone in all the quiet space. A small bell was placed where I was seated at the head of the long dining table. I remember it was so highly polished that I could have used it as my shaving mirror. I rang the little bell which brought a server who asked our desire for dinner and presented a most prestigious leather book listing the wines. We enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and felt like aristocracy.

           In the morning, we had a tour of the beautiful grounds and the impressive wine facility. Anne Delmas was the overseer of the chateau. Her husband, Jean Delmas, was Director of the world famous Chateau Haut-Brion winery. We became friends as they opened themselves and their hearts to making our visit a memorable pleasure.

          The harvest was already underway. There was a balcony on the upper level which overlooked the vineyards. The view was spectacular! The vineyard was filled with activity. The smiling, singing pickers would fill baskets carried on the backs of the sturdier fellows. They would then walk through the vine rows and deposit their load into waiting containers. In earlier times, those containers were horse-drawn. Now, tractors pull the valuable grapes to the buildings where they are separated from the twigs. The grapes were then crushed to be stored in huge metal vats where the maturation process would take place. That aroma was intoxicating. It’s a wonderful heady scent that stays in my sense memory.

          I began sketching my watercolor compositions. For some unknown reason, my client requested that I do watercolors and not oil paintings. What a joy it was for me – I love to paint outdoors and absorb the energy of the environment I am painting.

          On the second day, I received a phone call from the Baron Philippe de Rothschild. I was certainly surprised since I had no idea who he was. Katia and I were invited to dine at his stunning Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Katia turned out in her gorgeous clothes and charmed the Baron with her quick wit and intelligence. She was and is a spectacular person. It was lucky for me that the Baron spoke perfect English since I barely spoke a word of French. His wife, Pauline, was from Philadelphia. They were both gracious, engaging and warm. Little did I know I was conversing with one of the legendary figures of the wine world. It was a glorious evening. Baron Philippe de Rothschild was one of the most successful wine growers in the world. A member of the Rothschild banking dynasty, he was also a Grand Prix race-car driver, a screenwriter, a playwright and a poet. When he was barely 20 years old, he took over the Mouton-Rothschild chateau and vineyards in Bordeaux to which he would devote his life. In 1924, Baron Philippe decided that wines should be bottled at the chateau. He also came up with the idea of having labels created by great painters and sculptors such as Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso and other notables.

           The following day, I had another surprise phone call. Alexis Lichine invited us to his estate, Chateau Prieure-Lichine in the Margaux region. An American, Mr. Lichine had been an aide de camp to General Eisenhower during World War II. After the war, he settled in France to become one of the movers and shakers in the international wine world. The Prieure was originally a priory of Benedictine monks who cultivated grapes several hundred years ago. The dining area was the actual room where the monks ate and Alexis lovingly restored it to full medieval-looking splendor. Charismatic and irreverent, Alexis irked the elite order of Bordeaux by putting up billboards along the roadside advertising his tasting room – a promotional method no one liked at the time.  His knowledge and intuition about wine was astounding so it’s no wonder he was known as the ‘Pope of the Wine World’. Alexis was a very handsome man who spoke numerous languages and had five wives including the beautiful actress, Arlene Dahl. At the time we met, he was not married. He was a wonderful host and we became friends. I often would see him in Manhattan where he invited me to his palatial apartment across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I remember his maid would never allow me (or anyone else for that matter) to walk upon an extraordinary 40-foot Aubusson carpet. We would have to walk around it!

            I think the reason why the Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Alexis Lichine invited us to meet was simply that they were curious about an American artist visiting the Bordeaux wine region.

Q. How did you become recognized as the ‘Artist to the Wine World’?

WE: The Baron Philippe de Rothschild gave me that title. He was a grand ‘bon vivant’ and he and I ‘clicked.’ I have a wonderful framed photo of he and I taken at his chateau and he autographed it to me: ‘To Baron Ensrud, a like spirit!’

       When I completed my watercolors, I returned to New York City. Katia, who accompanied me on my first trip to the French vineyards, was very social and invited me to a soiree. At this party, I met Jean Vallier, Director of the French Institute-Alliance Francaise. He had heard of my trip to France and invited me to be the first American to exhibit at the French Institute Gallery. Jean asked me, “What would you like to paint?” I answered, “Naked French women.” We laughed. I asked if he was serious and I then said, “How about French wine?”

          “Can you arrange that?” he asked with eyes wide and arched brows.

          There was no email then so I phoned both the Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Alexis Lichine. They were delighted and put me in touch with the public relations firm, Bell and Stanton, who represented Bordeaux wines in the U.S. for twenty years.

          Yves Fourault, Director of Chateau Beychevelle, and Jean Delmas, Director of Chateau Haut-Brion, were my go-to guys who helped to make arrangements.

          Again, Katia was my companion interpreter. How lucky was I to have her as my friend: beautiful, charming and brilliant as well as a socially adept genius.

      The most delightful and charming Yves Fourault took us in hand. He was the epitome of elegance and charm. He selected the chateaux we were to visit and his secretary gave us our agenda for which chateaux, what days and what hours we were to visit. We began early in the morning at each chateau and were shown the facilities followed by a wine tasting and rich decadent French meals. Then I went out into the vineyards with my easel and paints. It was an exhausting project but deliriously marvelous. We visited three chateaux a day for seven days.

          The chateaux we toured were:  Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Latour , Lynch- Bages, Mouton-Rothschild, Pichon Longueville Baron, Pomerol , Cheval Blanc, Petrus,   Cos D’Estournel,  Saint Estephe,  Beychevelle , Giscours , Gruaud-Larose Langoa Barton,  Margaux,  Palmer, Prieure-Lichine , Rausan-Segla,  Haut-Brion,  D’Yquem and Ducru-Beaucaillou.

          This took a toll after some days. The rich food and wines caught up with me which resulted in Jean and Anne Delmas taking me to the local hospital. I was released with the basic instructions of  no rich food or wine. Katia and I soldiered on. Many friends were made and we continue our friendships to this day.

         The paintings were delivered to Jean Vallier at the French Institute and he was delighted. A wonderful lady, Jacqueline Chambord, was Director of the Gallery. Jacqueline took over all the arrangements for the exhibition. She was and is irreplaceable. I later created quite a good portrait painting of her.

          The exhibition date was set. On the evening of the opening, I thought it would be a disaster. Expecting a flop of a show, I stopped at the Hotel Pierre bar for a couple of scotches to calm my nerves. When I arrived at the gallery, I noticed several black limousines double parked outside. I was shocked and amazed to see as I walked into the foyer that it was jam-packed with well dressed people smiling, talking and clinking glasses. Jacqueline had certainly arranged a superb opening. Not only were my paintings handsomely framed but there was a bar set up for tasting high quality wines. Within a few minutes, a tall gentleman came up to me and said, “I just purchased ten paintings. Who gets the check?”

          I found Jacqueline amongst the lively throngs. She said to me, “We’ve never sold anything before!”

          All thirty-six paintings were sold and Florence Fabricant, the New York Times critic, wrote three columns about the exhibit. That is when the Baron Philippe dubbed me ‘Artist to the Wine World’. I then received a phone call from Sam Aaron, the owner of Sherry-Lehmann at the time who invited me to exhibit at their wonderful store on Madison Avenue as well as feature my paintings in their catalogue. I was hesitant since I was totally unfamiliar with them. After I learned that they are the 'Tiffany' of wine retailers who are renowned for their extraordinary catalogues featuring such artists as Picasso, Miro and Chagall, I agreed and so began my artistic adventures in the wine culture as well as a long-time friendship with Michael and Sam Aaron which then continued for over 30 years with the current Sherry-Lehmann CEO, Chris Adams and COO, Shyda Gilmer.