Rapper Lil Jon, is apparently joining the long list of celebrities with a wine project.
The Little Jonathan Winery is the new project from Lil Jon. Given his tastes in jewels and style these bottles look incredibly restrained.
No word on pricing yet or where the wines are sourced but he’s starting with a 2005 Merlot and a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Celebrity wines are extremely common these days and range from a celebrity simply lending their name or face to a project, to celebs who get hands on with the wine and are involved in the winemaking process.
A new report from Neilsen reports that the celebrity wines are as Wine Spirits Daily terms it “the new hotness,” replacing brands with animals on their labels as the wines that are most appealing to consumers.
Celebrity wines are up nearly 19% in grocery store sales since last year. They are less than one percent of total wine but that adds up to $41.8 million. Consumers seem to be willing to pay more for the celeb wines, an average of $8.50 versus $5.75 per bottle of regular table wine (celeb wines are generally in the $12 to $15 range). As you might guess, the West Coast is more interested in celebrity brands; Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego all had above average sales.
By Deidre Woollard.
Leona Valley Winery is unique because it runs right through an earthquake fault and the owner David Reynolds wants his wines to depict the uniqueness of them.
For the Naked Syrah, designer Ginny Westcott had to carefully cover up parts of her body that the TTB wouldn’t approve. This label would never have gotten approved years ago, but they seem to have lightened up. Comments Ginny: “ Westcott Design is the creative partner in my husband’s company called Wark Communications. Tom and I collaborate on many projects. I have been doing design and art direction since 1982 starting in the large ad agencies in Los Angeles and ending up back to my roots in Glen Ellen. We live in the heart of the wine country, eat, drink and breathe it every day. My design company is split into two different directions. I have a quirky wild side that gets satisfied by designing toy packaging for companies such as Elmers and Hasbro. Then a more elegant side where I get to express it with wine labels and wine packaging. Sometimes my wine clients will come to me because they love my toy packaging”.
“I love it when Tom and I work together on projects. He is an amazing conceptual person and our creativity fits perfectly together. He’ll steer me in directions I may never had thought about before. I have been designing wine packaging for about 10 years and learned the laws of wine from Tom. The hardest part is trying to keep up with all the new laws and finding creative ways to make what we want to happen”.
“I feel as though I found a perfect place in the wine label design world. There was a need for designers for the small to mid level wineries. Start up wineries don’t need the entire dog and pony show when wanting a new label and look. They have spent so much money getting their new winery going, they don’t really have a lot left to spend on their logo and label design. That’s where I fit. I like to work on their logo and label at the same time so it all feels like one in the end. My clients are all over the world and I only sometimes get to meet them in person”.
If your company’s outsourced contractors were in a R6 million financial crisis due to no fault of their own, and you wanted to help them out, who would you turn to for help? If you are Stormhoek Winery, you dodge the bank manager and turn to your biggest fan club – your customer base.
Amazon has pretty well established itself as one of the best (if not the best) online place to buy, well, anything and everything — except for wine. Until now.
The online wine business is a tricky one, and in recent years many a good business effort has ‘gone under’ as a result. Amazon’s specific plans for wine sales are a little fuzzy at this point, all we know is that they’re going to “build an entirely new selection from the ground up” and that they plan to add both wine and beer to a small pilot grocery delivery service running out of Seattle.
I think it sounds really convenient, good luck to them.
Winepocket. A communion between bottle and bag. The result of an exercise in reducing the amount of material and labor required to protect wine during transit, the winepocket stores flat then expands to fit most bottles. Opening also functions as a handle.
Clever, beautiful and functional.
Fairtrade wines are becoming more and more popular, which means they’re getting better and better. There are 30 Fairtrade certified wineries worldwide in South Africa, Argentina, and Chile, with the majority of their product shipping to the UK.
Fairtrade wines have had a rough start as far as quality is concerned, but in recent years have been making leaps and bounds to gain a better reputation. Whether you’re looking to try Fairtrade wines for the first time or are a seasoned connoisseur there are all kinds of good options out there.
China’s interest in wine has grown steadily over the past few years and many companies have been involved in helping China create thriving vineyards. Now for the first time, a Chinese citizen has bought a chateau in France’s Bordeaux region. The Cheng family has purchased the 500-year-old Château Latour-Laguens property.
The property includes a 15th-century tower, courtyard and pond. Haiyan Cheng, the daughter of wealthy Chinese businessman Zuochang Cheng, bought it all in January for about £1.5 million. Zuochang Cheng already imports wines to China from other winegrowing regions such as Australia, Italy and South Africa.Now they have an esteemed French name. Château Latour-Laguens produces red, white and rosé wines. The Chengs are planning to restore the castle, add accommodations for guests at wine tastings and wine seminars and to double the amount of vineyard space, possibly acquiring additional property.
Mid-market French wine has taken a major hit over the past few years. Champagne continues to thrive and the big name Chateaux continue to be highly collectible but other small producers have been struggling. According to an article in the Scotsman, buyers from Russia and Indian have also been shopping in the area looking to pick up vineyards from producers who are facing declining sales, low on cash, and eager to sell.
In case you’ve missed them, here’s February 2008′s 5 most popular articles:
Featured Wine Label Design: Star Tree
Vanessa Fogel Design wanted to create a uniquely South African wine brand, that will be able to produce the quantities and quality to become a global brand.
Featured Wine Label Design: Creation
Targeted at young conservatives, a minimalist approach was used on a “wraparound” label.
How Women Consumers Choose Their Wines
This CBS News Report shows us how men and women differ in their strategies to choose wine.
Champagne with flakes of real 23 Carat Gold.
Latest Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Label
Italian artist Guiseppe Penone created the design for the 2005 vintage.
Mashable.com has compiled this list of 30+ wine resources to help you learn about wine, talk with other experts and neophytes, and locate that bottle your heart has been desiring.