Patronage part of Domain
When Hobart artist Tom Samek was asked recently to sum up contributions made to the Tasmanian arts community by former Domaine A owners Peter and Ruth Althaus, the deep thinker paused before answering. 'Drawing is better than words,' he replied in an email, noting the January 2nd death of 79-year-old winemaker Peter Althaus.
Along with Samek's simple message came a succinctly captioned pen and ink sketch.
"Peter looks up at the pearly grapes."
It was a beautifully eloquent response, echoing many expressed by fellow artists and musicians on hearing Althaus had died suddenly in his native Switzerland. The Domaine A co-founders may have left the state on selling to MONA's David Walsh three years ago, but the late couple's commitment to the arts in Tasmania will be long remembered.
Peter and Ruth Althaus loved their adopted home from the moment they first set eyes on our pristine natural vistas and our uniquely Tasmanian approach to lifestyle. It was 1989 and the couple had recently purchased Campania's tiny Stoney Vineyard from George and Priscilla Park.
A former IBM executive in Zurich, Peter Althaus had come to Tasmania to turn his wine hobby into a wine profession. Encouraged by his lab technician wife and business partner, the self-taught winemaker saw the family's intended tree change as an opportunity to become inspired by the character of the Tasmanian landscape and its people.
Althaus made his first Domaine A wines at Stoney Vineyard on a tourist visa. The couple then returned to Zurich, leaving the Parks in caretaker mode, until the new owners returned permanently with their goods and chattels in August 1990.
It wasn't long before the Coal River Valley vignerons began to reveal their passion for the creative talents of fellow Tasmania artisans, like printmaker Tom Samek and sculptor Stephen Walker. Wine enthusiasts visiting their 20ha property would immediately set eyes on a striking Folko Kooper installation, featuring three sentinel herons watching over Stoney Vineyard's dam and it rows of manicured vines.
"We have many really good artists down here, and they make such beautiful things that they should be supported by everyone living here," observed Ruth Althaus, who passed away in Switzerland in January 2019.
Practically every return visit to their European homeland provided the couple with a chance to share their love of Tasmanian art and craft. In 1997, as part of a two-month tour focused on wine promotion, the Althauses staged significant exhibitions in the cities of Zurich and Schaffhausen.
The list of exhibitors read like a who's who of contemporary art and furniture design. It included Jenny Turner (weaver), Paul Boam (painter), Tom Samek (printmaker), Mark Bishop (woodturner and furniture maker), Strato Anagnostis (then a kaleidoscope maker), Toby Muir Wilson (furniture maker), Patrick Hall (sculptor and designer) and Derek Smith (potter).
Their exhibition pieces left the state mid-year, carefully packaged and transported in a large shipping container, arranged and paid for entirely by the Althauses. Rubbing shoulders with cartons of Stoney Vineyard and Domaine A wines were assorted new releases from up-and-coming producers in the Derwent Valley, Stefano Lubiana Wines.
Speaking at the time, furniture maker Toby Muir Wilson noted the Campania couple's generous private patronage was something of a rarity in an era when governments were being asked to do more and more to support local arts communities.
"I think there are plenty of opportunities for other private businesses that haven't yet been involved with the arts to become involved," he said in August 1997.
"The key to success is networking. That's really important."
There are bound to be many Tasmanian artists – established and emerging – that today would echo Muir Wilson's comments from almost a quarter of a century ago.
"It was through Peter and Ruth that I got to meet many other artists then working in Tasmania," notes Mangalore sculptor Folko Kooper.
"I originally came to Tasmania from Sydney. Many of the connections being made between artists here had occurred quite organically. That changed enormously, especially when (Conservatorium of Music teacher) Maria Lurighi joined Domaine A in 2001 to help with wine marketing. That allowed many other creative people to become involved – people in food and music included. It was a winning combination in those days.
"It's no surprise to see where the vineyard has ended up, a key part of David Walsh's investments in food, art and music. As a wine business, Domaine A was a natural fit, considering all that Walsh has been doing over the years."
The new ownership certainly sat very comfortably with the Althauses, having first turned down better offers from less preferred suitors.
"Most people who appreciate good art usually appreciate good wine," Althaus observed on securing Domaine A's future as an iconic Tasmanian wine brand.
First published 30 January 2021: tasmaniantimes.com