I’ve spent years drawing restaurants: capturing places where people gather, celebrate, and create memories. But this summer, my pen took me somewhere a bit different, though deeply connected to the same spirit: Bricoleur Vineyards in beautiful Sonoma County, California. What I found there wasn’t just a new subject to sketch. It was a continuation of why I started creating hand-drawn restaurant prints in the first place.
Bricoleur invited me and my family to spend time on their estate in Windsor, CA. (And I couldn’t say no!) From the moment I set foot on the grounds, I was immediately struck by how aligned their philosophy is with my own creative work. Just as I draw from life, standing on sidewalks and sketching what I see, they work from the land outward. They let the vineyard shape the wine and the meals they pair with it.
Their tasting barn, with its sightlines across the vines and its sense of open invitation, felt like a place you’d want to stay awhile. So, I did just that before putting ink to paper.
I walked, listened, and absorbed the nature of the place. My goal wasn’t simply to draw their tasting barn, but to immortalize a place that holds memories. And to turn that into a piece of art that could accompany someone else’s toast-worthy moments and unique stories.
That drawing now appears on the label of Bricoleur’s limited-edition Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine, released for the holiday season. And what makes this collaboration meaningful is not just the art or the bottle itself, but what it supports: $10 from every bottle sold is donated to The V Foundation for cancer research, as part of Bricoleur’s ongoing Sip With Purpose initiative.
Pairing art, food, wine, and giving feels like a natural extension of my work. My Hand-Drawn Restaurant Prints often mark anniversaries, engagements, retirements, homecomings. This sparkling wine is another way to savor and honor those moments while helping support a good cause.
Drawing restaurants changed how I see the world. It taught me to slow down and notice details: the color of an awning, the tilt of a doorway, the way light hits a sign. In a time when so much pulls us into the future, drawing keeps me fully in the present.
And giving back feels like an extension of that, too. Over the years, All the Restaurants has supported organizations like City Harvest, Historic Districts Council, Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Art alone can’t fix the world. But it can create moments of stillness, joy, and connection. And sometimes, it can also help fund the work of people saving lives and nurturing communities.
Restaurants are not just dining rooms. They are ecosystems comprised of people who grow, craft, and prepare the things we savor and share at the table.
So, while a vineyard may look different from a corner café in Paris or a steakhouse in Manhattan, the heart of it is the same. It’s a place where gathering happens and it felt right to draw the Bricoleur Vineyards.
This collaboration reminded me that my project All the Restaurants extends past the boundaries of dining establishments. It’s an ever-growing visual library of all the places that nurture us, in every sense of that word. If there’s a vineyard, restaurant, or food landmark you think I should draw next, I’d love to hear from you.
