QUESTION: Is it true that eye-catching labels are more about marketing than wine?
ANSWER: Sometimes.
A colleague has opined that any bottle with a picture or drawing of “a cute animal” on it should be avoided like the plague.
We wouldn’t go that far, because a quality-minded winery that also invests in attention-getting artwork for its label should not automatically be plopped into the “cheap plonk” category.
For example, there’s a Zinfandel on the market that simultaneously delivers quality in the bottle and entertainment on the label. It’s called “7 Deadly Zins,” and it’s made from grapes grown in seven specially-selected vineyards in the Lodi, Calif., area.
A stylized “7” and “Z” are cleverly morphed, and a halo is depicted above the combination numeral/letter. Dotting other parts of the label are various “deadly sins” in screen-backed lettering: gluttony, sloth, envy, lust, greed, pride and anger.
All in all, it’s an extremely well-packaged bottle, from a marketer’s perspective. And the wine inside lives up to the “hype,” with plenty of sinfully enticing raspberry, boysenberry, blueberry and sweet spice notes.
