Small Paso Robles, Calif., Winery Wins Best in Show; Wooden Boxes and Pewter Labels are Keys to Gold
YOUNTVILLE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 9, 2017 / The Fableist Wine Co., a 3,000-case winery from Paso Robles, Calif., won the Best in Show prize at the third annual Wine Packaging Design Awards. TV host and author Leslie Sbrocco announced the winners of five juried categories plus the People's Choice award at the close of the Wine Packaging Conference organized by Wines & Vines magazine Aug. 16.
Encore Glass of Fairfield, Calif., submitted The Fableist for the Best Series Package Design category, including bottles of six different varietals at $20 per bottle, each with unique label art and names drawn from classic fables.
Curt Schalchlin, a principal in The Fableist, said, "My partner Andrew Jones and I have spent the majority of our adult lives in the wine business. We like to tell people that pretty much every fable or life lesson is something we can both relate to the world of wine."
An independent panel of judges appreciated the detailed drawings on each label and their correlation with the fables that inspired each wine. Five judges representing the confluence of the wine retail, wine media and design fields selected gold, silver and bronze winners in the categories of Best Alternative Format, Best Classic Format, Best Luxury Package, Best Redesign and Best Series from 143 packages entered by wineries across North America. Best in Show was selected by the judges from among the five gold award winners.
The Wine Packaging Design Awards are unusual in the world of wine competitions since the wines are not tasted and rated on wine quality, but graded on their design quality, functionality, materials, creativity, and appropriateness for their price segments, among other criteria.
"We were excited to see 18% more entries this year," said Rebecca Arnn, the awards program manager and graphic designer at Wines & Vines. "And with our great panel of judges, we were able to evaluate them carefully and professionally to pick outstanding examples of design."
Judges were: Curtis Mann, wine, beer and spirits buyer at Raley's Family of Fine Stores; Barbara Phillips-Barrett, creative director at Lamfers and Associates; Sara Schneider, wine editor of Sunset magazine; Barbara Gelfand Summer, graphic designer and owner of bibisummer.com; and Debbie Zachareas, proprietor and managing partner at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant and the Oxbow Cheese and Wine Merchant.
The full list of award winners includes:
Best in Show
Fableist Wine Co. of Paso Robles, Calif., entered by Encore Glass of Fairfield, Calif.
Best Alternative Format Package Design
Gold: Element Cellars, Angwin, Calif.
Silver: Earth Wise Red Wine Blend by Delicato of Manteca, Calif.
Bronze: Tangent Winery of San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Best Classic Format Package Design
Gold: Cooper & Thief Cellarmasters Red Wine Blend, Constellation Wines, Calif., entered by Bruni Glass of Fairfield, Calif.
Silver: Odd Lot by Scheid Family Vineyards of Salinas, Calif.
Bronze: 15-Year-Old Port by V. Sattui of St. Helena, Calif.
Best Luxury Package Design
Gold: King Estate, Eugene, Ore., entered by Affinity Creative Group of Mare Island, Calif.
Silver: OneHope, Napa, Calif., entered by Unionpack of American Canyon, Calif.
Bronze: La Vita by Bargetto Winery of Soquel, Calif.
Best Package Redesign
Gold: Sterling Vineyards, Calistoga, Calif.
Silver: August Ridge, Creston, Calif.
Bronze: Galen Glen of Schnecksville, Pa., entered by 3Seed Marketing
Best Package Series Design
Gold: Fableist Wine Co., Paso Robles, Calif., entered by Encore Glass of Fairfield, Calif.
Silver: Omen Wine entered by Atlas Wine Co. of Napa, Calif.
Bronze: House Wine, entered by Precept Wine, Seattle, Wash.
People's Choice Award
Raymond Vineyards, St. Helena, Calif., 40th anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon
Of the 16 award winners, 12 were from California, and one each from Washington, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
Design elements beyond the ordinary helped capture the judges' approval in several categories. A wine by Element Cellars won Gold in the Alternative Format category for its unusual wooden box with a bladder inside. A hand-applied, embossed pewter medallion helped King Estate take the gold in the Luxury category for wines retailing at $50 and above.
The People's Choice Award, chosen by conference attendees from among the top 50 juried wines, went to Raymond Vineyards for its 40th anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon that carries a red velvet-textured label.
Read more on the Wine Packaging Design Awards here. Read more about the Wines & Vines Packaging Conference here. To enter the awards competition next year, please visit wvpack.com in early 2018.
For more information and photos, please contact Rebecca Arnn at Wines & Vines magazine, [email protected], or call 415 453-9700.
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