Fine Art Photographer Gray Malin may be best known for his stunning aerials, but he’s about to make a splash in the wine world. Malin partnered with Andrew Harding and Stephen Amell’s Nocking Point Wines on the just released Getaway Rosé, which is exclusively available through Nocking Point’s Monthly Wine Club – The Tastemakers’ Club.
The Mourvedre and Syrah blend is complimented by one of the photographer’s beautiful aerial beach images on the bottle.
We caught up with Malin to learn more about the refreshing rosé, his latest series, the Hamptons and more.
What led to this exciting new endeavor?
GM: My personal philosophy as a photographer has always been to Make Everyday a Getaway, and this has become my brand slogan as well. I enjoy transporting people to places all over the world through my photography and I’ve extended this far beyond just my images, to create an entire mindset that follows this mantra. Across many years of understanding my audience, I’ve learned that not only do they love art that brings back memories of certain places or inspires future adventures, but they also love the lifestyle that comes with traveling and living experiences to the fullest, including indulging in exceptional food and wine! Throughout my travels around the world, I’ve been exposed to many different types of local wine in different regions and I’ve been able to expand my palate and gain a huge appreciation for the culture surrounding wine – especially how it can bring people together. For this project, I was inspired to create a beverage that emulated the lifestyle that my brand represents and that people would enjoy together at a picnic, on a beach, or simply from their porch on a summer evening.
Tell us about Getaway Rosé.
GM: The wine we decided to go with was both extremely tasty and turned out to be a beautiful peachy color which I thought looked really nice – especially in combination with designs for the label that we had in mind. Our wine is 80% Mourvedre and 20% Syrah. It’s very light, dry, refreshing, and very easy to drink. I think it is the perfect summer rosé!
How involved in the winemaking process were you?
GM: I really relied on the expertise of the winemakers and curators at Nocking Point to create this selection. I initially wanted to create a wine that I was involved in from harvest to bottling, but unfortunately due to COVID as well as the timeline that we were looking at to launch a wine collaboration, this was not a possibility. However, Nocking Point was incredible in taking the lead and presenting five different blends based on the initial notes I gave them of the type of wine I wanted. They are experts in wine partnerships and have proven to have very successful collaboration with a variety of individuals and brands, so I expected nothing short of this for our project!
Any plans to venture into different varieties?
GM: I would love to! I think this is just the beginning of my venture into different beverages. I can see my brand continuing to make different versions of rosé to create a larger collection and I absolutely want to make a sparkling wine at some point as well!
What made you choose the artwork featured on the bottle?
GM: I chose this artwork because it depicts a quintessential and universal beach aerial image, representing an everlasting feeling of summer. The teal water in the image also looks beautiful against the pale peach color of the rosé.
Your gorgeous photos adorn the walls of many Hamptons homes, and you also highlight the East End with an incredible aerial series. When in the Hamptons, what are your go-to spots?
GM: Here are a few of my favorite spots throughout the Hamptons -
What are you working on next?
GM: Right now we are in full swing, preparing to roll out our holiday season offerings. We have a ton of new paper products (notebooks, stationary, pens, postcards, journals) that I think brand fans and newcomers to our brand will love, as well as new designs for some of our most popular and mostly sold out products such as puzzles, porcelain trays, phone cases, and our 2020 glass-blown holiday ornament. Image-wise, I am working hard to finalize images that I shot in collaboration with the Hollywood Chamber a few months back. This project features the iconic Hollywood Sign is one I have wanted to do for a while. Fortunately, spending so much time during quarantine in Los Angeles, I finally was able to make it happen.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
GM: In addition to our Rosé, I just launched beautiful aerial images of Maine – I am thrilled with how they turned out! They paint a beautiful picture of the quintessential beaches, quaint homes and diverse coastlines of the New England shores.
To learn more about Getaway Rosé, visit nockingpointwines.com. To learn more about Gray Malin, visit www.graymalin.com.
