Vinology Magazine

Vinology is a community that think wine is to be loved, shared, tasted and talked about in a world where design is of mission critical. We love to see the passion for design transpire into the World of Wine. It is this passion that has led to the creation of Vinology. We hope you find as much enjoyment discovering new label design, unique packaging, crazy venues, and passionate people & vineyards as much as we do bringing them to you. www.vinology.com.au WELCOME TO VINOLOGY Un-wooded and Un-biased. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19702599-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[vinology-blog]

Studio Lost and Found are responsible for this design work for Edward Tomlinson, an award winning winemaker, who was looking to launch a side project, separate from his iconic family winery Lenton Brae in Margaret River, Western Australia. 

This side project was a ‘natural wine’ made from biodynamically grown grapes, with no added yeast, no filtration, and minimal intervention. Inspired by the biodynamic grape-growing process, which includes burying cow horns in the vineyard.

The packaging features bespoke typography and a matt silver foil stamp. The product is bottled in environmentally friendly lightweight glass. 

[vinology-blog]

Arthur Wines are well known in Australia for their sensational branding, located in Margaret River, WA, Tash Arthur specializes in making fortified wines.  Studio Lost & Found has designed the packaging for their newest Muscat, a small batch of only 1,000 bottles that has been aged for 24 months in old cognac barrels.

The luxurious black label and the strinking egg blue are extremely eye catching. On the side of the label, the information regarding the batch number, quantity, and aging appear. The modern sans serif font and serif font combine in a way that reflects the brand’s history while also emphasizing the unique nature of the wine.

[vinology-blog]

So it has been a while, in fact a very long time since I last blogged about all things design in wine.  But with the Boutique Wine Design Awards being judged next week, and my passion to see great design and branding being considered a norm in our Australian wineries and bottle shops, I thought I would start again.  If only to catalogue my favourites for my own pleasure and perusal. So here goes.....whats been happening in Australian Wine Design?

[vinology-blog]

Rigoletto - an Amphora Wines brand has been given a new look by Studio Polutranko.  The new label is a reflection of the name Rigoletto, the Italian opera character, a hunch back Italian court jester of the Duke of Mantua.

[vinology-blog]

Cake wines -

"Cake was created by a couple of Australian young wine makers and young wine lovers looking to create something completely different in the wine world. With a focus on producing great Australian wines but also on celebrating wine and the culture it creates, Cake Wines collaborated with Ze studios across a number of platforms including digital, print and bottle layout."   

Individual artists are showcased on each bottle through considered typography, layout and printing techniques, including foiling and embellishments.

[vinology-blog]

Black Grape Society

Truly incredible design work and attention to detail.

Designed by ONE DESIGN, Black Grape Society needed to attract and engage with their consumers on a level which encourages purchase of a premium-level wine. This is how Black Grape Society was born, as a fictional wine society, rich with ceremonies and rituals to uphold the secret knowledge required to produce the finest pinot noir in the world. 

"Every element illustrated in the crest is symbolic of certain aspects ascertaining to the brand story and winemaking process, despite many being shrouded in mystery.  The founders initials adorn all material, a continual reminder of the origins of the brand. The label shape is an upside-down wine glass, symbolic of the ritual performed by the Black Grape Society - upon finishing the glass is upturned. The back labels present the tasting notes in a novel format, diagrammatically depicting the Black Grape Society’s science of winemaking. Heavy uncoated stock, and letterpress-style debossing is a nod back to historical wine labelling. The cues are premium with touch of gold, used with restraint."

[vinology-blog]

Shaw Family Vintners Single Vineyard Range

   You need not delve to far into this blog to find many labels from the team at Parallax  I am huge fan of their work.

These labels are illustrated to depict the with amusing stories of the Shaw family patriarch, Richard. 

"The Shaw family have been growing grapes and making wines in McLaren Vale and Currency Creek for over 35 years. As part of a comprehensive brand restructure, we developed a new range of wines to fill a hole in their portfolio and pricing strategy. The resulting Single Vineyard wines tell the idiosyncratic and amusing stories about the Shaw family patriarch, Richard.

Stories like his collection of over 100 tractors (The 9N), his insistence that his sons hold a truck driving licence in case the wine business didn’t work out (The Back Up Plan), and his pioneering viticultural practices which are now industry standard — T trellising (Lazy T) and growing native grasses between vineyard rows (Rusty Plough)."                               

[vinology-blog]

Australian Wine Label Design Competition 2014

I am a self confessed wine branding nerd, which is why I just love this competition.  It is industry recognition of the importance of branding and marketing wine.  Entries have to be with the AABW in April.  Here is a sneak peek

  The student category is looking very promising

by Alana Scott - Gold Coast Institute of TAFE

For an entry form visit the AABW website - boutiquewines.com

[vinology-blog]

Taylors 2009 The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon is the inaugural release of this super-premium wine, which will only be released in exceptional vintages.

Named in honour of third generation Managing Director Mitchell Taylor’s grandfather, Bill Taylor Senior, The Visionary is the family’s pinnacle release. This initial release is a bold step forward in Taylors continued journey across generations, crafting refined and distinctive cabernet sauvignon wines. 

Such an extraordinary bottle of wine calls for extraordinary packaging.  The Collective  were given the job of designing this, they have been working with Taylors on their packaging since 2008 and have received much recognition for their innovative work, in particular at the AABW Wine Industry Design Awards of 2012 and 2013

Each bottle of The Visionary is individually hand labelled, hand numbered and hand packaged in a bespoke design luxury gift box and outer sleeve. The substantial outer sleeve of the gift box is resplendent in a metallised silver paper stock, featuring a large laser die-cut Taylors seahorse crest with a de-bossed foil block at the base. The inner gift box has been hand wrapped in black linen book cloth revelling in its sophisticated use of negative design space. The label stock for each individually torn label and the dust jacket on the accompanying vintage booklet are presented on stock specially sourced from an Italian mill founded in 1717. Both the front label and the dust jacket feature a large blind sculptured emboss of the Taylors seahorse crest. 

The hand sewn vintage booklet that accompanies each bottle of The Visionary details the history, vintage conditions, vinification and maturation of this exceptional wine. While The Visionary is a new release, the recipient has the opportunity to immerse themselves in the story of Taylors.

The story of The Visionary does not stop here. The Taylor family also bottled a very limited number of six-litre imperials of the 2009 vintage of which just ten will be released for sale. Befitting the pinnacle nature of this release the family commissioned Adelaide-based master craftsman Andrew Bartlett to create a bespoke cabinet for each imperial. Each cabinet has been crafted out of a single piece of hand selected Tasmanian blackwood. The fixtures and fittings, including the individual Spanish crafted locking mechanism, have been finished in rhodium to ensure that they, like the cabinet and the wine housed within, will safely see in the second half of this century. 

When the wine and cabinet are purchased (RRP AU$5,000) the buyer will be presented with an individual Tasmanian blackwood presentation box whose design echoes the full size cabinet. Inside the presentation box will be an individual rhodium plated key to unlock the cabinet, a letter of authenticity personally signed by Mitchell Taylor and a series of limited edition photographic prints featuring a selection of specially commissioned images of The Visionary and its cabinet shot by world-renowned photographer Keith Saunders. This rare occasion, where the packaging is as complex and layered as the wine itself, is one of the elements that make this a genuinely special wine to own. “There is not another table wine packaged to this level of sophistication and luxury anywhere in the world,” Mitchell Taylor Managing Director said.  The inaugural 2009 vintage release (RRP AU$150) will be available domestically via Nuance Duty Free stores and selected independent fine wine retailers. Internationally this wine will also be available via Taylors trading partners in key export markets of China, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

[vinology-blog]

New labels for Andrew Seppelt by CJ Rhodes in Melbourne

[vinology-blog]

Scarborough Wines team up with Australian icon Reg Mombassa to produce a great new label design for the 2012 Chardonnay.  

[vinology-blog]

Entries are now open for the AABW Wine Industry Label Competition. Last year I helped judge this competition and was just so inspired by the entries that I saw, from large wine companies, to small independent winemakers, designers and students alike. If you are a winemaker, designer or student with a label or design that you are proud of then visit http://boutiquewines.com.au for the application form.  There are prizes and trophies to won in many categories.  Be Inspired..

[vinology-blog]

One day this will be a Vinology pop up wine bar....

[vinology-blog]

Nugan Estate Matriarch

Designed by Depot, Australia.

Depot were asked to create a limited release, premium brand in honour of the former company CEO—the Matriarch. The brand mark and packaging livery needed to have an understated elegance and simplicity with an overarching strength. The design inspiration draws on the medieval art form of illuminated letters. The brand mark is woven into the M symbol and elevated off the label through the combined finishes of embossing, high-build varnish and foiling. The remaining design elements are embossed and foiled, sitting on a sumptuous velvety black achieved by a double pass of black printed on an uncoated stock. The capsule label is a simple cross style band die-cut, embossed and foiled. The product is presented in a raw wooden box with the brand mark simply screen printed on the lid and front panels.

[vinology-blog]

Tyrrells Lost Block rebrand

Tyrrell’s Lost Block flagship, originally came about in 1993 when a block of Semillon grapes were quite literally forgotten at harvest time.  After realising the oversight, the grapes were eventually picked and chief winemaker, Andrew Spinaze, created an approachable, softer style of Semillon.

“We decided to move the brand from the more traditional execution in packaging to something that graphically embraces the story of the Lost Block, with the introduction of a caricature of the vineyard manager, set in a number of winery and vineyard situations looking for the Lost Block,” explains Tyrrell’s sales and marketing manager, Mike Cutrupi.

“The label graphics also flow through to the carton designs, which will certainly catch the eye of the consumer when displayed in store.”

[vinology-blog]

Gippsland Wine Company

During their recent rebrand GWC had new labels designed that tell the story of the estate through each varietal. From the colony of Black Cockatoos for the Shiraz, through to the Pinot Rosé label with red roses that lined the main building planted there by the first owner.

Designed by Damian McGrath, Australia

[vinology-blog]

A great label by David Franz Lehmann of the Barossa Valley. The wine is The Larrikin V bottled in 2011 for release now, the dog on the front is Humphrey, David's French Mastiff. Particularly love the rustic string detail around the neck of the bottle.

Spotted and borrowed from this weeks 'The Week That Was' from WBMOnline