WBW#16: Judge a Bottle by it's Cover

Trevor Jones Dry Farmed Barossa Valley Shiraz 2000.

This month's theme is really about the art of wine marketing -- discovering what it is about a label or bottle design that makes us pick it up and buy it, sometimes without  knowing anything about the contents within.

It reminds me of a day back in 1981 when I picked up an LP in a NYC import record shop, called LC by Durutti Column. The album art was minimal and striking, with a beautiful texture to it. I had to buy it, though I knew nothing about the music, other than it was on Factory Records, home to Joy Division.  It's still a favorite and  here I am almost 25 years later, still a Durutti Column fan. I took a chance on that first record, and have since bought about 14 more.

What drew me to this label was the simplicity of the design, with the worker's boots by the door, framed beautifully by the mottled lacquered  design surrounding it. This along with the classic Aussie way of setting the type on the name of the wine on a small paper strip at the bottom. Very distinctive and a great piece of design.

Once I did some web research on Trevor Jones, I soon discovered the root of this great design. Ralph Jones, the owner, was the National Marketing manager for Orlando wines, who distribute Jacob's Creek, one of the biggest Aussie sellers. After leaving Orlando, Ralph and his wife Val wanted to make a smaller scale boutique products. Turns out they got two wines with 100 pts. from Parker as well --dessert wines. He certainly has access to great designers and knows how to market a wine.

This wine is fabulous, and I'm an instant fan. It has a classic Hermitage bouquet to it, full of blackberry bramble, blueberries, menthol and cigar box. The flavors are super ripe fresh red cassis berries and blue berries. It has a round mouth feel and a tremendous long finish. At $30 it doesn't come cheap, but is a worthwhile seek.

Comments

[Derrick Schneider]

Very nice choice on the label. I like your description of why you liked it, and I'm glad to hear you found some great contents. You're one of the few, but I'll have my write-up on the site this weekend.