Monthly Archives: April 2011

Hyatt’s House Wine Gets Student-Designed Labels

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If you order Hyatt's house wine brand, Canvas, you'll get a lovely surprise, the beautiful labels shown above.

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Folio Fine Wine Partners announced the winners of the 2010 Canvas Artist Series Contest, which gave accredited art students the chance to create a signature wine label for Canvas, a wine brand created by Folio Fine Wine Partners exclusively for Hyatt. The limited edition Canvas wine bottles will be available at all participating Hyatt properties throughout the U.S. starting in February 2011 and feature striking artworks chosen from a wide field of entries.

The Cabernet Sauvignon label was created by Jesse Couturier-Herndon of Armstrong Atlantic State University; the Merlot was designed by Anna Membrino of Southern Methodist University and the Chardonnay was done by Claire Ramirez of Trinity University. Each student also received a $5,000 scholarship from Hyatt.

Source :: Luxist

Halewood to Launch Prince William Royal Wedding Champagne

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Halewood International has owned the Prince William Champagne brand for decades but now, with the Royal Wedding coming, the brand is looking to cash in.

The brand is releasing a limited edition commemorative label, using the 'Prince William' and 'Royal Wedding' trademarks. The champagne is expected to retail for around £25 and is expected to sell well in England in advance of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on April 29.

Source :: Luxist

Who’s Drinking Wine? A Look at the Wine Market Council’s Latest Survey

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The news is good for winemakers according to the recent presentation by the Wine Market Council. The council's sixth annual U.S. Wine Consumer Trends presentation confirmed that this new year marks 17 years of consecutive growth of wine consumption in the U.S.

John Gillespie, president of the Wine Market Council revealed that wine consumption continued to grow through two recessions, albeit at reduced rates. In 2010, U.S. consumers downed 276 million cases of table wine. But it is the core wine drinkers that really keep the numbers high. This group, defined as those who drink wine daily, several times a week or about once a week, is about 20 percent of the population (approximately 46 million U.S. adults). This dedicated group accounts for 91 percent of all wine consumption. Marginal drinkers defined as those who drink wine less often than weekly represent 31 million U.S. adults.

Wine drinking is on the rise in the Millennial group (ages 17 to 34). Six percent are drinking wine daily, 26 percent are drinking wine several times a week, and 19 percent drink wine once a week on average. Generation X (ages 35 to 46) and Baby Boomers (ages 47 to 65) are also consuming wine more regularly. The over-65 wine drinkers have the largest proportion of daily wine drinkers, perhaps because of doctors' recommendations.

The results also reveal some interesting figures on varietals. Baby Boomers are drinking Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and leaving behind Dry Rose and White Zinfandel or blush wines as well as drinking less Champagne and sparkling wines. Overall wine drinkers are still conscious of their wallet and looking for good value wines but there are also signs of slow growth at the mid and higher ranges.

Another intriguing part of the survey is the social media results. Two-thirds of core wine drinkers and 40 percent of marginals use the Internet to get information on wine," Gillespie said. More than half of all wine drinkers are on Facebook and 41 percent of core wine drinkers use a smart phone and, of those, 39 percent said they have wine, food or restaurant applications on their phones whereas only 25 percent of marginal drinkers use a smart phone.

Source :: Luxist

Venturi Schulze Vineyards

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For those well-versed in the local wines of British Columbia, and specifically Vancouver Island, the name Venturi Schulze is known for achieving excellence through natural processes. One of the oldest vineyards on Vancouver Island, they have been working diligently since 1988 to produce pure products: no pesticides, no herbicides, and no compromise in the vineyard or winery. Venturi Schulze had long relied on strong word of mouth and a dedicated local following to sell their fine wines. But they began to desire a brand and packaging that matched the sophistication of their wines.

Hired Guns Creative began the process by creating a new brand for the winery. The name of the winery had always been slightly problematic because of spelling and pronunciation challenges. However, after conducting some market research, it was decided that the name had significant mind share in their target market and renaming the winery would be detrimental. With that in mind, the focus became the refining of the Venturi Schulze name into the VS identity.

The design of their wine bottles needed to convey that their wines were something special; a typical wine label just wouldn't do. The bottles had to be interesting, eye-catching (to pop off a wine shop shelf), and needed to appeal to their target market (people aged 40+). They had to evoke the quality of the wines and the earthy, organic processes used by the winemakers. The bottles couldn't be about design trends, gimmicks, or humour – they needed to be classy and timeless.

A silk-screened bottle concept was created with a design that matches the quality of the wines and works with each of the 10-15 types of wine that they release each year. The new release of wines are in stores now and a new website and print materials are currently in the works.

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Design by Hired Guns Creative | Source :: Packaging of the World

Perrier-Jouet Celebrates it’s 200th Anniversary in Paris

On March 20, Champagne House Perrier-Jouët celebrated its bicentenary with the unveiling of Bi-Centenaire—the very first Living Legacy champagne designed to be passed on to future generations.

An exclusive guest list gathered for the unveiling of a new kind of Champagne experience by the house renowned globally for its Belle Époque Cuvée. Guests were also treated to the unveiling of a new work of art commissioned from American artist Daniel Arsham, designed to embody the spirit of Bi-Centenaire—a true invitation to celebrate life.

Perrier-Jouët Bi-Centenaire tells the unexpected tale of a great vintage wine with two stories. The first takes place today: a champagne-lover treats himself to a magnum of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 1998. Many years later, a descendant in turn enjoys a magnum of Belle Epoque 1998, passed down through the generations, preciously stored in a private cellar in Perrier-Jouët for up to 100 years.

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Just 200 guests from 10 countries attended the private launch, set in the stunning glass courtyard of the iconic Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, symbolizing Perrier-Jouët’s passionate family spirit for passing on artisanal and artistic craftsmanship. Guests enjoyed a unique exhibition of photographic portraits by legendary Studio Harcourt, showcasing iconic examples of family legacy including French movie stars Alain Delon and daughter Anouchka, American model and actress Jerry Hall and daughter Georgia May Jagger, Catherine Deneuve and son Christian Vadim, the world’s oldest Circus dynasty Patriarch Sampion Bouglione and son Francesco, France’s oldest jeweller Olivier Mellerio and daughter Emilie, and more.

The evening concluded with the unveiling of Daniel Arsham’s unique diptych sculpture, revealing glimpses of the bottles through an original and distinctive architecture, designed to express the philosophy of this champagne. “It was this spirit of Perrier-Jouët continuity that I wanted to illustrate by creating a diptych that combined both the essence of Perrier-Jouët and my universe. My initial inspiration came from Perrier-Jouët’s vines and its cellars, the detail of Emile Gallé’s anemone flower,” commented Daniel Arsham.

Perrier-Jouët Bi-Centenaire is available in very limited quantities (100 pieces only) at the Champagne House’s Boutique in Epernay and by appointment only including a privileged hospitality experience. It is also available through the exclusive Pernod Ricard network for an average RSP of 10,000 euros.

Source :: POPSOP

The Scarlet Letter

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“All technology is eventually appropriated for the most basic of human needs—love, lust and sin. The invention of the postal service was no different. How many couplings found their start, and end, via an impassioned letter? Named in part after this phenomenon and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s magnum opus of the same name, The Scarlet Letter is a hedonistic sparkling version of Padthaway Shiraz.”

Designed by Parallax Design Studio | Source :: Lovely Package