Monthly Archives: April 2008

Wine For A Greener World

Tetrapak wines are not the newest thing but I think the typical consumer would assume the wine is cheaply made and would lack the taste of a finer wine. Yellow+Blue begs to differ. Moving towards a greener packaging product (get it — yellow+blue makes green!) and getting away from heavier shipments which use more gasoline, Yellow+Blue has decided to choose light tetrapak over heavy glass bottles for their new Malbec.

The tetrapak is the same kind of material which typically stores juice in boxes for kids — I guess this means adults have “juice” boxes of their own now! The Argentinian Malbec is set to sell for about $11 per one liter pak which would have cost $20 per bottle. Drinks on the go, good for the earth and less expensive to boot! I’m in for a taste.

By Laura Malesich.

Beating the Wine Counterfeiters

Magnums of 1921 Bordeaux from France’s legendary Chateau Petrus have sold for up to $75,000 at auction. The problem: Even Che2teau Petrus isn’t sure whether it was bottling magnums in ’21.

This is just one of many examples of fake wine being sold for big bucks. And as the price and popularity of less-rare vintages go up, counterfeiters are starting to knock off those as well; last August, Italian winery Braida, whose younger vintages sell for around $20 a bottle, reportedly fell prey to a scam in which cheap Italian table wine was labeled and sold in Germany as Braida’s premium Barbera.

Now some vintners are turning to tech safeguards to protect their venerable brands. Read how the wine industry intends fighting back.

Sculpterra: Where Wine & Sculpture Meet

Wine and art are like chocolate and strawberries — a perfect combination. Who doesn’t like the cultural expansion of art with the swirl, sniff, and sip of a fine wine.

Under the mild skies of Paso Robles, California, Sculpterra Winery and Vineyard creates a scintillating space where both wine and art can be enjoyed outdoors.

Less than five years old, Sculpterra boasts an award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, balanced Chardonnay, refreshing Pinot Grigio and intense Petite Sirah. Most recently, two new blends called Statuesque and Maquette, joined the Sculpterra name.

The sculptures have been created by John Jagger and are framed by a path-lined garden where guests can take in the experience.

By Laura Malesich.

Wine By The Trial-Sized Tube

Wine may be enjoying new popularity, but that doesn’t mean the average consumer isn’t still daunted by the knowledge it takes to pick a bottle they’ll like. WineSide is taking a novel approach to simplify the process by offering wines packaged in sample-sized tubes.

WineSide offers both sweet and classic wines in patented, flat-base glass tubes with screw tops carefully engineered to protect the wines’ flavour. The sweet wines which include Sauternes and Muscat, are available in 6cl tubes, while the Pomerol, Chateau Neuf du Pape and other classic wines can be purchased in 6cl or 10cl sizes. WineSide’s collection represents a range of appellations and producers; tubes are available individually or by the box, which can be chosen to provide an introduction to a variety, year or region. Kicking off retail sales, the products are available exclusively at Colette in Paris this month.

In addition to giving consumers a new way to sample and discover wines, WineSide’s tube format also promises to give vintners new tryvertising capabilities at relatively low cost. The French company’s website is still under construction, but it says it is looking for distributors. One to get in on early!

Source: Springwise.

Veuve Globalight Limited Edition Champagne Cooler

Karim Rashid must really love sweeping pink lines and feminine appeal — his Veuve Clicquot Loveseat featured the theme and now so does this Veuve Clicquot Globalight limited edition champagne cooler that he designed.

Intended to “encapsulate the bottle with warmth” and surround it with light, Rashid drew his inspiration from a random brainstorming scribble and the idea of a purse or handbag.

It serves 3 functions by cooling the champagne, lighting the champagne, and serving as a way to carry the champagne.

Globalight costs $4000 and is available on www.e-clicquot.com

Source: www.luxist.com

Directors Cut Wine

“In 2006, Francis Ford Coppola purchased a new home for his winery in Sonoma County. In honor of this move, we created a new line of all-Sonoma wines called Francis Coppola Director’s Cut. Named after the version of a film, which most reflects the director’s vision, the Director’s Cut wines represent our winemaker’s vision of varietal wines, which express true appellation character. In addition, every bottle of Director’s Cut pays homage to the history of filmmaking and the uncompromising standards that make both winemaking and filmmaking true American art forms. ” Designed by sfaustina.

Source: www.thedieline.com

Featured Wine Label Design: Gilysipao

South African wine produced and supplied by Orange River Cellars for the Beijing Olympics. Gilysipao literally translates into Good Luck Wines.

Comments packaging designer Vanessa Fogel: “China is a very difficult market to design for as they are extremly literal, with colour playing a vital part in their culture, and many colours are a no no in their culture, and this had to be observed and respected. As a result the design had to be simple, strong and modern, so I decided to make it a point of difference from the busy design that is so popular in the Chinese market, – which by the way is a very fast changing consumer market (very influenced by western culture at the moment) , and I wanted to do a design that would have relevant longevity, and be able to be built up into strong a brand over time”.

“With a strong simple message being emphasized, because there has to be a degree of education for the Chinese wine consumer out there, we also wanted the design to be sophisticated enough to appeal to both the foreign market that lives there and visitors who will be there for the Olympic Event”.

“Not an easy task as the clients English and my Chinese is very limited indeed! Perseverance was the winner, and the result is strong and striking”.

Related articles:

Wine Scene Growing in Booming Shanghai

The Globalization of Wine: Chinese Family Buys Into Bordeaux