How wine labels provide insight on what’s in the bottle
Wine snobs may sniff at those who pick the bottle with the prettiest sticker, but labels can convey a lot of information on a retail shelf.
Many people choose their wines based on the aesthetics of its label, opting for a favored color scheme, a creative design, or beautiful artwork. Wine snobs may sniff at those who pick the bottle with the prettiest sticker instead of patiently researching the wine’s grape, region, and vintner, but it’s not a bad strategy. Wine packaging has become quite sophisticated in recent decades. A well-executed label design can instantly convey how a wine will taste, as with this sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.
Today’s self-serve retail environment provides vintners with every incentive to ensure their packaging evokes the wine’s sensory profile accurately and appeals to the appropriate audience in terms of its colors, fonts, and artwork. Bright colors and modern art suggest a more fun-loving, fruity style. Parchment-toned labels with etchings of vineyard scenes are associated with the classics and signal traditional styles when they appear on European wines. These tasteful old-school designs can be more ambiguous though, because their gravitas inspires widespread imitation.
The Prophecy line of wines is international, featuring artful illustrations inspired by the symbolism and imagery of the tarot arcanum. Everything about this bottle has been designed to conjure its brisk and citrusy flavor profile at first glance. Clear glass suggests a refreshing, lightweight white wine, while the palette of pale greens are visual metaphors for the dry and faintly herbal flavors of this unoaked, cool climate style. The image of the tarot’s high priestess is meticulously detailed, showing her inner reflection in a way that conveys complexity and finesse. That’s a lot we can learn about a wine without doing any homework or even reading the label.
Prophecy Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
$9.99, 12% ABV
PLCB Item #1210
Sale price through 11/28 — regularly $11.99
Also available at:
Total Wine & More in Wilmington and Claymont, Del., $9.99, totalwine.com;
Joe Canal’s in Marlton — $9.99, marltonjoecanals.com;
Canal’s in Mount Ephraim — $9.99, mycanals.com.