London’s Toklas restaurant is deeply rooted within the art world. From its sumptuous Mediterranean-infused cuisine such as shaved courgettes sprinkled with mint, to its bakery’s buttery pastries with rich chocolate to sumptuous blackberries folded within each layer. The process from preparation to plating-up is an art form in itself, which is now accompanied by Toklas’ latest venture into the vineyards- crafting its own-label wines. The three cuvées also double as collector’s items, with a series of limited-edition artworks commissioned by Toklas and Frieze founders Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp.
Wine and design: Toklas' own-label cuvées
‘Wine is a funny area,’ Slotover told Wallpaper*. ‘There is a lot of misunderstanding and miscommunication around it - we thought it would be great to have our own wine that we could recommend and that guests could get to know. We also thought having an artist doing the label would be a good use of our knowledge of the art world and friendships with artists.’
Stripping back any pretension, the creative duo welcomes visitors into the world of wine and art. The Toklas Red, White and Rosé bottles will include labels from the first designer within the series, Lubaina Himid CBE. ‘We’ve been a fan of Lubaina’s work for years. She made some paintings for Glyndebourne last year which were beautiful and surprising and one featured wine bottles. So it seemed she had an interest. We talked about ‘elevated simplicity’ a lot and actually they reflect that very well.’
Humid is considered to be one of the UK’s most important contributors to the British Black arts movements, and is the first Black woman to win the Turner Prize. In 2018, she was awarded a CBE for her contribution to British art. Now, in collaboration with Toklas, she has intertwined her vibrant and bold artistic style with indulgence and ‘elevated simplicity’ through the colourful patterns on each bottle.
The elegent label design is reflective of the contents within. Each cuvée is hand-blended by Valerie Courreges in Provence, and produced using ‘organic and biodynamic principles’. The trio of summer wine is priced at £50 and will be available within the restaurant and on the Toklas wine list this month.
