Yesterday evening the New Zealand Portrait Gallery opened its exhibition "Looking Down the Barrel – the face of New Zealand wine". 

Drop in to Shed 11 on the Wellington waterfront for a look.

The exhibition was launched with fulsome honour to wine-drinking. No opening could slip away more pleasantly. No need for the pretenders to look at the pictures – they could be open about preferring the wine.  And the speeches and readings stayed just the righ side of self parody. What could be more cheerful than hearing eloquent speakers say that what we like doing also has the highminded virtue of art.

My firm, Chapman Tripp, are the Gallery’s honorary solicitors, and I’m it for the firm. It is rarely onerous. Though the gallery does not confine itself to flattering portraits, in my time there’s been no litigation.  

The Gallery has some high powered support. Former Governor-General Rt Hon Sir Michael Hardie-Boys chairs the Trust. He and trustees Alan Bollard and Keith Ovenden were among those who help get funding for such exhibitions. John Saker curated it.

But the most exciting news for the Gallery from my perspective came last month. Chris Finlayson MP announced in National’s Arts policy that the gallery would be included for government funding, which it has been seeking for a long time.