Wine by Design

Kris Pino Grigio - 2009

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:38:23 -0400

Name: Kris Pinot Grigio
Year: 2009
Purchased at: Hannaford, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Price: $11
Design: ”arty,” colorful, kinda eh
Expectations: Not much
Recommendation: Great wine, if you don’t really like wine very much

Let’s be honest, we didn’t put a whole lot of thought into this purchase. We happened to be at the grocery store and thought, hey, lets grab a bottle of Pinot. So glancing along the shelf we spotted a fairly big emptiness. Between two rather fancy looking bottles, about four holes back this bottle was staring back. Our initial thought of course was, well someone here really likes this wine, so hey, we’ll give it a go.

I should have known better based solely on the “art” that emblazoned the front of this calamity. This is art for art’s sake, ya’ know about the same worth as the generic prints found in the lower level of IKEA.

Well tonight we opened this bottle up. The aroma was pretty much non existent. At first sip there is a very slight vanilla essence, but really that is about it. It reminds me of something one would drink at a dinner party because they didn’t really care about enjoying a wine, they just couldn’t sit through the awful conversation without a little buzz going. If that’s the case, this wine is probably perfect for you, easy to drink without an extra umph. In a word, flat.

Yard Dog White - 2009

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:25:09 -0400

Name: Yard Dog White Blend
Year: 2009
Purchased at: Wholefoods, Portland, ME
Price: $9
Design: Quirky, Offbeat, Fun Typography
Expectations: Fun and Likeable
Recommendation: Great for the money.

We found ourselves in wholefoods this week with a little time to kill before our to-go meal was ready. And what better way to enjoy a little free time in this massive grocery store than browsing through the wine section? After perusing the french selections, alternative whites, and the little corner of saki’s we came across this little label with a very odd dog gracing the cover. So of course we decided to take this little pup home.

This Australian wine is produced by Red Heads vineyards and is most definitely a mutt. A white mixture of 53% chardonnay, 36% Sauvignon Blanc, 6% Semillion and 5% Viognier.

Judging by the label we expected to really like this wine. I mean, the color palate was fun, the dog illustration was weird and off kilter, and it was dog themed and we are definitely dog people. Thankfully we were right! We unscrewed the top, poured a glass and sat down to enjoy.

This blend ended up being a great summer wine at a great price. Although it didn’t have an distinct scent, it definitely had a great mix of flavors. It was a very crisp tasting blend with the most prominent flavor profile being green apple, with a some citrus mixed in as well. The tart taste had a way of snapping me out of the sour mood I had been in most of the day, and for that I was grateful. Sometimes bringing home a stray dog is just what you need.

You can't judge a wine by it's cover?

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:08:13 -0400

If you are anything like me, you are stumped when it comes to choosing a wine. Being a designer I am drawn to things that are aesthetically pleasing to me. Basically if it has a good use of typography, a witty idea, or just some really cool packaging I will probably take a closer look.

I decided to take the next year and explore just how much a good label design (or lack thereof) says about what’s inside the bottle. Does the feeling expressed on a small peice of paper equal the experience of drinking whet is contained inside?

Now I’m not a wine connoisseur by any sense of the imagination. So these reviews of course will be a departure from anything you would read in food and wine magazine. I believe that good design goes a long way! Let’s hope my theory is correct or I am in for a year of really bad wine.