Label Love

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a complicated person. In fact if you want to make me really, really happy you only need to drop me off outside 2 stores - a book shop or a wine store. Give me unlimited time & a few dollars & I'll emerge in a euphoric state, my little purchases tucked under my arm & a grin from ear to ear.

I also love great design, design that's clever, a little quirky, tells a story & sells a product. I recently read a fab article from Wine Business describing the process behind the design of a wine label. If you're interested in knowing what drives design in wine labelling, this article is well worth the read.

I do however, abhor wine snobbery, there's no place for it ever, ever, ever. There are a number of great Antipodean winemakers who can be described without fear or favour as larrikins. They add wonderful dimesion & balance to the world of wine, god bless them. They will not hesitate to call someone a Wine Wanker if they deserve it & nor will I.

These days I tend toward the quirky on the Wine Shop shelves to grab my initial attention. Not that I'll be swayed to trade good content for a creative label, but often it will influence me more than a boring, staid label that's done it's time. So here are a few of my current faves, interestingly mainly South Australian wines because we have one of the best Graphic Agencies in the whole wide world, Mash Design here in Adelaide. If you've found something wonderfully quirky & clever in your wine store lurkings, please tell me.

These 3 are from Shinas Estate . The Guilty is a Shiraz, The Innocent a Viognier & The Verdict a Cab. Sav. The Owner/Winemaker is a Magistrate Judge.

The next 3 come from the outstanding Killibinbin Winery in McLaren Vale. The main US distributor of Killibinbin was always referring to these as being 'Killer' wines, so this 'Killer' comment became the impetus for the packaging of this series of wines. The theme was enlarged using graphics from old horror flicks and their gruesome killing scenes. There is the 'Stranglehold' Cab. Sav., 'Bloodcurdling Scream' Shiraz & 'Killer Hand' Red Blend.

Then there's the fabulous 'Return of the Living Red' from Redhead Wine Studio in McLaren Vale. This label was designed for the top end of their fine wine range. As this Red is non-vintage it has no age (the 2 grape varieties coming from different vintages).This was a complex fine wine, a mysterious and intriguing wine. To compliment this, Mash Design developed a concept to create a small packet envelope containing missing and/or suppressed crime files implying the existence of the living dead in and around the vineyards. With use of disturbing illustrations and fascinating old photos on a toothy uncoated paper the concept was bought to life. A slip knot with old twine and a deep red wax dipped bottle went with the old crime file folder.

A barrel monkey is the Australian equivalent of California’s cellar rat - ' one who drags hoses or pushes barrels in winery'.... the distinguishing features include a purple tongue & stained red hands. This Shiraz was produced by a group of moonlighting barrel monkeys using the equipment at Redhead Studios in McLaren Vale.

The highly-acclaimed Lazy Ballerina Shiraz Viognier from McLaren Vale is named after the viticultural term. It refers to the common trellising effect that a wine grapevine is grown on in Australia.

I love the 'Bins' range! According to Dieline 'It started out as a cheeky concept based on many Australian wines (Penfolds in particular) who use the specific 'bin' number to identify their wines. The Design Agency used the fact that in the U.K bins are usually associated with refuse or garbage & then twisted the concept by taking photos of regular garbage bins outside houses in the U.K. As is quite common, householders paint their respective house number on their bin to identify it as theirs. Bin 15a is obviously a flat.'

Image 1: Madwine Images 2,3,4: Shinas Estate Images 5,6,7,8,9,10: Mash Designs Image 11: Sam's Wines Image 12: Lazy Ballerina Image 13: The Dieline