Elk Haven

AWARDS

• Double Gold Medal, 2022 Lone Star International Wine Competition, Wine Label Division

• Best of Category, 2022 Lone Star International Wine Competition, Wine Label Division

• 2022, American Graphic Design Award

Explohr

AWARDS

• 2022 American Graphic Design Award

Category 5

The design of Category 5’s brand and packaging are a natural outgrowth of winery owner Jason Smith’s background in internet and network technology. Both logo and primary label feature a “diagram” (loose, but a diagram) of digital circuitry.

There are two delightful alternative label designs supporting and conceptually related to the Cat 5 brand: “Hacker Rosé” and “Firewall Red.” Each is created to resonate within the Seattle/Redmond area tech community, because geeks like their wine!

AWARDS

• Gold Medal
  2020 Lone Star International Wine Label Competition
  Framework Red

• Silver Medal
  2020 Lone Star International Wine Label Competition
  The Hacker

• Pack Design Showcase
  Wine Business Monthly, October 2021
  The Hacker

Goose Mountain

Washington State has a new AVA: Goose Gap. It lies in between such celebrated appellations as Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills, within the Yakima Valley and Columbia Valley AVAs. Its defining geographical feature is the long, low ridge of Goose Mountain – a perfect place to grow both wine grapes and fruit trees!

Goose Ridge Winery is near the bottom of the ridge, its vineyards sprawling toward the mountain in an amazing transformation of Eastern Washington’s desert into a lush, green agricultural paradise.

To honor this amazing setting and the excellent wines made here, we chose elements that signal luxury: super heavy, stout, tapered glass. An extra-large paper label was designed with a lovely texture. Rich color, deep emboss and matte gold foil were selected to embellish the design. A custom foil capsule features its own mark; a G with a feather through it.

Insider tip: Turned horizontally, the feather becomes an illustration of Goose Mountain.

AWARDS

• 2020 Gold Medal
  Lone Star International Wine Awards

• 2021 American Package Design Award

• 2021 American Graphic Design Award

 Tapteil Vineyard

“Tapteil” is the Native American word for “narrow river”. In keeping with that theme, we designed a logo and wine label inspired by the Native American symbol for “sun, water, wind” — elements that make the Red Mountain terroir so special.

Scruffy Head

Beth Law came to us with the idea of creating a wine for fellow owners of Wired Haired Griffon Pointer —or “Griffs”. We worked with her to bring her concept to life—and to the marketplace! Scruffy Head, and it’s sister brand, Lacewing Cellars are located in Walla Walla, Washington.

 AWARDS

• 2023 American Package Design Award

• Featured in GDUSA Magazine, May 2023

Nirvana

The literal meaning of the term Nirvana is “quenching”. How appropriate for a high-end wine brand rooted in the Buddhist tradition. We used an image of the tranquil lotus flower in developing their logo, complemented with mesmerizing mandalas on their wine labels.

 AWARDS

• Gold Medal
  2019 Lone Star International Wine Label Competition
  2016 Syrah Label

• Gold Medal
  2019 Lone Star International Wine Label Competition
  2015 Karma Red

• 2021 American Package Design Award

• 2021 American Graphic Design Award
  Moksha Rosé Label

Love the Girls

Sara Nelson Design collaborated with Southern Cross Winery to create “Love the Girls!” Rosé as a way to raise awareness of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (a different kind of breast cancer). Proceeds of the wine sales fund hardship grants for families dealing with the financial strain that often accompanies cancer treatment.

This label is unique in that there are four different back labels, alternating on the roll, each with a different educational message. 

Alexandria Nicole Cellars

Alexandria Nicole Cellars came to us with a striking concept for a second label for a particularly dark, dark red wine that they called “Jet Black.” You can see the result: Black background, silver lettering and a stylized letter “A” to break through any visual clutter that may be about.

Windhorse

Sustainability is an important issue for wineries and of course, the planet. Many of the brands we serve talk about their commitment to sustainable farming and caring for the planet—but none moreso than Windhorse Wines.

We communicated their values through the use of color, imagery and story. We then solidify their position by prominently displaying Salmon Safe and LIVE certifications on the brand label.

The omission of a capsule was both a waste-reduction measure and an aesthetic choice.

AWARDS

• 2023 American Package Design Award

• Featured in GDUSA Magazine, May 2023

Martinez & Martinez 

Martinez & Martinez asked that we “age” the logo that we did for them back in 2013 and incorporate an element of their family heritage—a sugar skull—into the design.

Another interesting element included in the background is a hand-written letter written from one generation of the family, emphasizing the family’s heritage.

AWARDS

• 2020 Bronze Medal
  Lone Star International Wine Label Competition

Carmelo Vineyards

There were interesting aspects to designing Carmelo Vineyards’ wine label. One was that the winery owner already had an idea and provided us with a napkin (literally) sketch of two horseshoes and a rose.

Another angle was that the wine would be sold only in a co-owned restaurant. Not competing visually with hundreds of other wines in a retail wall or aisle setting allowed the use of more subtle techniques to create a sophisticated look and feel. For instance, printing the labels on metallic film created the sensation of a foil label while retaining the lighter feel more appropriate to a Rose’.

Capital Call

AWARDS

• 2022 American Package Design Award

Sunshine Valley Vineyards

This wine was initially sold in the United States, but the intended destination market from the start has been China, with its emphasis on corporate gifting. To establish SVV wine as luxury gift, we kept the design clean, subtle and low-contrast, and created metallic elements to differentiate it from other, lower cost wines. Once the wine AND label design won enough prestigious awards to establish its credibility as a high-end California wine, the move into the Chinese market began and has continued since,

AWARDS

• Best Overall Package
  Wines & Vines Packaging Expo
  2015

• 2014 American Package Design Award

Alexander Huang

Developed for a chain of tasting rooms across China, this luxury Napa Valley wine speaks to a culture that esteems Western luxury. This is  especially true when it comes to corporate gifting in China. That part of the Chinese market was specifically called out as the primary target in the process of developing this wine label design.