In New Zealand, it’s fair to say, most wine labels are traditional, largely unadventurous, and almost never controversial.
Even the Australians make us look relatively staid, when you consider their flamboyant colours and some ‘out there’ brand labels.
But what can we learn from the often wacko wine labelling and branding from the Sonoma-based Don Sebastiani & Sons wine company in the United States?
Not content with naming two of its wine divisions ‘Three Loose Screws Wine Company’ and ‘The Other Guys’, the company has dubbed individual wines with names like Screw Kappa Nappa, Smoking Loon, Plungerhead and Ginot da Pinot.
However the company’s really pushed the boat out with its latest label – ‘Used Automobile Parts’.
Describing it as a “luxury” label, Don Sebastiani & Sons have released the wine nationally through its Three Loose Screws division. The Bordeaux-style blend will be sold at retail in three-bottle packs for $US150, or $50 for a 750ml bottle.
Don Sebastiani, Jr, company marketing director says the name keeps with the company tradition for outlandish and creative names.
"We took a look at the established luxury brands of the New World, like Screaming Eagle, Opus One and Hundred Acre, and we noticed many had one thing in common - a made-up name. So Dad came up with Used Automobile Parts. There's no story behind it - other than it's an arbitrary collection of three words that you most likely won't forget.”
The wine is a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petite verdot, cabernet franc and malbec, sourced solely from Napa Valley vineyards.
Both the cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon are from a ranch in Calistoga, while the petite syrah was sourced from Chiles Valley and the merlot from Yountville. The malbec was grown in Rutherford. The 2002 vintage is a wine with "rich extract and refined structure," Sebastiani said. "We recommend pairing it with beef and wild game, such as elk loin, venison and pheasant."
Used Automobile Parts is packaged in elegant bottles featuring a sophisticated script of 22-carat gold, directly screen printed and fired onto each vessel. The trio comes in a stylish presentation box that features a certificate with the winemaker's tasting notes and an artistic rendering of each closure.
Each bottle in the pack feature a different closure - the increasingly popular screw cap, the ZORK from Australia and the relatively new, German-engineered Vino-Seal, said Sebastiani.
"It's three times the fun for the consumer. We're big believers in alternative closures. When it came to choosing one seal for our most exclusive wine, we were stumped, so we decided to use three and make it a package deal," Sebastiani explained.
The company already has a history of using cork alternative closures. Last year when it launched its Screw Kappa Napa label – a name not intended to be derogatory to anything apart from cork screws – it also launched a campaign to educate consumers on the merits of screw cap closures for wine. The company’s capped line-up includes cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, merlot, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc wines.
"The overwhelming consumer response to Screw Kappa Napa and the soaring demand for wines bottled in twist-off closures prove there is life after cork," said Don Sebastiani Jr. The company is using "Life after cork" as the theme for its in-store marketing and to educate consumers.
The Screw Kappa Napa wine label was designed to reflect the dominant message - a screw cap wine from Napa Valley.
“Simple, clean and elegant, the label features an angel wing corkscrew, replete with halo, flying off to heaven. This reinforces the 'life after cork' marketing theme and directly reflects our intent to be the new soul of Napa - bold, savvy and cutting edge," said Sebastiani.
"Informed wine drinkers know that screw cap closures are better for the wine, so the educational campaign is directed to those consumers who don't necessarily read wine magazines or keep up with wine trends on a regular basis," said Sebastiani. "We want them to know that screw caps aren't just there to make the wine more approachable and easier to open - they're actually to ensure that the wine in every bottle remains pure and untainted."
Last year's Screw Kappa Napa regional pre-release was 30,000 cases. The company was expecting this year’s national launch to grow sales significantly.
While many wine industry people from around the world will still disagree with them, Don Sebastiani & Sons came right out 12 months ago and said they were “concerned with the overwhelming proof that a significant amount of wines sealed with traditional tree bark cork are spoiled by cork taint”.
The company announced it would focus exclusively on using alternative closures for its entire product line – no minor matter with an annual case production approaching two million.
The company described itself at the time as the largest wine company in the world to totally abandon the traditional cork closure.
”We are determined to consistently deliver wine with the fresh and vibrant flavors that God intended,” said Don Sebastiani Jr. “Therefore, we have decided traditional cork made from tree bark is not in our best interest, now or in the future. There's just too much risk of tainted wine. And while some in the industry might tolerate what they perceive to be an acceptable failure rate, we feel that just one tainted bottle is totally unacceptable. Pardon the pun, but to continue to use traditional cork is, in our opinion, simply barking up the wrong tree.”
Cork taint occurs when natural mould in corks causes a chemical reaction that produces trichloroanisole, commonly called TCA. The compound can give wine an unpleasant, musty odor. Sebastiani said the company will use a variety of alternative closures across its product line.
The company currently uses Neocork and Nomacorc synthetic stoppers and ROPP aluminum capsules manufactured by Alplast and G-3 Enterprises, but has added the ZORK PopCap (at left) and Alcoa's Vin Tegra' glass and acrylic stopper to its repertoire, while continuing to review new alternative closures as they are introduced to the market.