He’s able to ‘tag’ wine label
HE’S GOING from graffiti to grapes.
Fernando Carlo, better known as Cope or Cope2, was once a prolific graffiti tagger who struck subway cars and walls across the borough with his bubble letters.
But these day, the self-proclaimed “King of the 4 train” is breaking into the bourgeoisie by pairing up with an Upper West Side wine merchant.
67 Wine & Spirits on Columbus Ave. will sell a limited edition 2009 Spanish blend called La Caldera 67, featuring a label designed by Cope.
The colorful idea is the brainchild of Oscar Garcia, a wine buyer and sommelier who works at the 73-year-old store near Lincoln Center.
Garcia says the decision to blend his love of grapes and his appreciation for graffiti isn’t as strange as it seems.
“Now, you see graffiti in galleries,” Garcia said. “But growing up in the city, I remember seeing the tags fly by on the trains. I wanted to recreate that memory.”
The sommelier said the vintage is as authentic as the big bold bubble letters on the label.
“This is a real wine,” the 33-yearold insists. “It is a wine that is full-bodied. It is something unique and representative of the city of New York.”
The grapes used for the Cope collaboration come from Bodegas Luzon, a winery in the southern Spanish province of Jumilla. The Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Monastrell blend is both full-bodied and expressive, according to Garcia. “It’s a wine that goes great with meat dishes like stew, roasted poultry or beef tenderloin,” he said.
Garcia says he was drawn to Cope because of the tagger’s ability to break into the art world.
“There are a lot of graffiti artists living in New York but this is an artist with longevity,” Garcia said.
For the label, Cope painted the word “wine” on a canvas that was commissioned by the folks at 67 Wines and the image was then digitized and printed onto the labels.
The bottles, which will run $19.99, will be available online and at an in-store tasting next week.
“To have your art on a wine bottle is pretty amazing,” Cope said.