Designed by Insite Design | Country: Canada
“We really enjoy designing labels for small batch wines as it opens up so much possibility when free of the constraints of volume application and materials. Also, the consumer’s relationship with small volume wines is more intimate and as such close-up and tactile. Not to mention, the wineries themselves don’t mind hand applying labels when there are so few to do!
When we were asked to design this label for Five Rows, a boutique winery located in the St. David’s Bench area of the Niagara Peninsula, it was unanimous that an option was to follow our initial signature package that identified the 2004 unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon — a mere 24 bottle release.
Our goal with the package was to position and treat the icewine as a traditional farm staple — milk, butter, eggs… and icewine. These products, though adorned with the brand and style of their producers, is typically practical and spontaneous in production. They often utilize a package format that suggests re-use as well as customization for small volume — all adding to the charm of the farm product.
Icewine has been traditionally marketed as a rare and highly coveted liquid to be consumed on occasion. Being lovers of the stuff, we’ve always believed the position should be of less occasion and more staple and that this position could be asserted without compromise of quality or price premium — Icewine is insanely labour intensive to create and as such demands a high retail price.
It was decided a folded, glueless, piece of paper wrapped tight to the bottle with a produce elastic would do the trick of communicating the utilitarian nature. The bright nectar colour of the wine itself deserved no less than flint glass for full colour which in the end also adds to the re-usable milk bottle feel of the package.
The label is essentially a carrier for winemaker notes on the production of the wine as well as origin. The initial release was digitally printed at low volume, hand cut and applied by hand with elastics similar to the remaining 1000 bottles. Much of the graphics are also hand drawn which is consistent with the Five Rows identity. The flint bottles were finished off with a hand drawn signature by Wes Lowrey the winemaker.
