In the MIX

Douglas Blyde on the sommelier who turned his day job into works of art

‘Music, wine and art connect people,’ says Claudia Monticello of the work of her father, the artist and London sommelier Valentino Monticello. As a young man, the future head sommelier at members-only Harry’s Bar would cycle 55 miles to see operas in Verona. His bold works would feature scenes from these operas, to which the young Valentino added surprising details — such as furtive wolves.

Valentino’s most formative commission was a public mural that he wrought not from paint but a collection of wine labels — setting the tone for the pictures he would become famous for. ‘All of my pictures are composed of shapes carefully cut from wine labels,’ he said. ‘The people, the flowers, even the lines.’

After returning from Harry’s Bar, Valentino spent all

night in the studio at his Battersea home, powered by coffee and creativity. This studio, kept the same as when he passed away in the midst of a scene from Don Giovanni in 2014, appeared chaotic. ‘My brother and I would find wine labels sticking to our feet while bottles soaked in buckets until their labels floated off,’ says Claudia.

In London, Valentino’s The Rake’s Progress hangs in Soho’s Sussex restaurant, owned by English wine producer Nutbourne. Restaurateur Richard Gladwin had long admired the Monticello in the salon of his hairdresser, Biagio, who shares a family connection to Valentino. ‘One day they pulled out a piece with Nutbourne at the centre. The rest is history!’

Despite demand for his art, Claudia rarely sells Valentino’s work, preferring to share it. As well as Sussex restaurant, if you find yourself in Italy’s Chianti region, visit the Il Molino di Grace estate, where Valentino’s art depicts the story of wine.