Backlabeling
Backlabels are an art and marketing genre all their own. A backlabel is an opportunity for the winery to describe the wine, communicate the philosophy of the winemaker or tell a story that can involve the people buying or enjoying the wine. Options range from the French approach, which seems to be that backlabels are for desperate weaklings (hence NO backlabels), to highly detailed descriptions of how the wine was made, the grapes that were used, all the many foods the wine may go well with, that the winemaker is lefthanded, etc. - the more detailed the presentation, the greater the risk of adding too much information.
Recently, I found a wine that took a new tack: just listing the name of the U.S. importer! The wine was Las Rocas de San Alejandro 2002, which is imported to the US by European Cellers of New York (which has since relocated to North Carolina) - the winery's marketing team must feel that if they can make it there, they can make it anywhere!
The space available for communication on a backlabel is limited, as is people's patience to read. Personally, I appreciate a backlabel that attempts to clearly explain the style of wine and something about the people that have made it.
posted by Steven Tolliver 1:22 PM
1 Comments:
My fave backlabels are the ones from
Ridge Vineyards in California. These
are backlabels for wine geeks. It must
be my affinity for academics -- the winery
was started by former Stanford professors.
They stick to the weather conditions, what
they did and when they picked, and when you
should drink it. Here's a sample from their
2003 Lytton Springs (the best Zin out there,
IMHO):
This, our twenty-fifth vintage of Lytton Springs, marks the completion of the new, sustainable winery, and the first time we have made the wine on the estate where it is grown. From 1972 to 1976, and again from 1984 to 2002, we picked early in the morning and trucked the grapes to Monte Bello—three hours away. This year's short crop and intense September heat caused the fruit to ripen all at once. Tannins were highly extractable, so almost half the grapes were left uncrushed, and the number of pump-overs was reduced. As malolactic fermentation finished, we assembled the finest and most typical lots, and racked to barrel. After twelve months in air-dried american oak, the wine was fined with nine egg whites per barrel, balancing firm structure and sensuous fruit. This classic Lytton Springs is enjoyable now. It will soften with a year or two in bottle, and develop fully over the next eight to ten years. JO/PD (11/04)
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