Lowering The Boom On Bordeaux Labels
Chapter Seven. Part Three.
Next month marks the 24th anniversary of my life in the wine and spirits trade but my preoccupation with wine actually began about a dozen years earlier. In fact, by the time I bought a wine store in 1994 both my wine cellar and my liver were overflowing with classified Bordeaux. Given my penchant for drinking mature claret you may find it hard to believe that I still own the very first first growth I ever purchased.
In 1985 I visited Sherry-Lehmann for three consecutive days before I finally summoned the nerve and the capital to purchase a bottle of 1982 Chateau Margaux. How different would my life have turned out if I used the money for something more practical – say repaying my student loan for example. I might be writing a blog about fiscal responsibility instead of wine and then what would I do with all those liver jokes.
Read MoreMessage On A Bottle.
Chapter Seven, Part Two.
The first thing I do when I sit down to create a new wine label is assemble my puns and pencils. I’ve learned that my irreverent approach to wine labeling often conflicts with local wine laws, so many of my efforts will not soon be coming to a store near you.
I once worked with an importer to create a label for an inexpensive line of wines from the south of France. Inspired by the great wines of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or we developed an image of a chateau sitting near an ancient clos. Clos is a French term meaning a walled vineyard. Our chateau door was wide open, and the winery name below the image announced, Clos de d’Or. It turned out the French have laws against this kind of chicanery and they quickly closed the door on this label.
Read MoreFat Bastards & Sassy Bitches.
Chapter Seven, Part One.
I know the wine trade is steeped in tradition but does that mean wine labels have to be as dry as the wines they adorn? Apparently not, as wine labels with quirky names and images now populate the shelves of nearly every wine retailer.
Some of these labels are as offensive as the swill inside the bottle but the movement towards nontraditional labeling has also caught on with many quality producers. Today you can find outlandish labels on many outstanding wines; labels that are whimsical, outrageous, or in some cases, uniquely practical.
Should the lights go out when you’re enjoying a Pinot Noir from the Carneros Della Notte winery you won’t have any trouble finding the bottle because theirs is the first wine label to glow in the dark (much like my nose after analyzing a Big Ass Cab).
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