Bottle Labels – 2024
Wines Bottled in 2024
Note: These labels are from wines bottled in 2024, not started in 2024.
2023 marked the first time in 30+ years that I made French-American hybrids.
The first to go in the bottle was the Vidal made from juice. The background is the vineyard where the grapes were grown
The first 12 liter carboy of Vidal-Orange (Vidal fermented on the skins) used a picture of Vidal grapes as the background.
When I bottled the final 4 liters, I used the Glade Springs Vineyards graphic. However, I slightly faded the photo so the colors are not as bright.
It doesn’t show as much on screen, but on the printed label the original labels are bright enough to be garish. Slightly muting the colors makes a more pleasing label.
In August 2023 I started a Metheglin, it wasn’t going to be a 1 US gallon test batch. It grew into a 25 liter batch, which I backsweetened with frozen apple juice concentrate. In hindsight I should have named it “Apple Metheglin”, but the labels were already on the bottle.
In December 2023, I started beta testing the Ultima series kit from Finer Wine Kits. I was asked to make the kit and provide feedback, which I did.
In October, we started bottling the 2023 French-American hybrid wines. The first was the Chambourcin. I wanted to use a photo of Highland Meadow Vineyard, but I couldn’t get it to work.
Using a graphic as the background for a label requires having spaces where the color is consistent enough that text is readable. This picture, which I took at Linville Falls Winery, worked out great.
Developing an idea for the Cabernet Sauvignon was difficult. Nothing was coming to mind, so I stole an idea for making a play on the name. Cartoon bears were far too cartoonish, and then I spotted this polar bear, reclining.
The original plan was to make a Cabernet Franc-based blend based on McGregor Vineyard’s Rob Roy Red, hence the name. However, the taste testing didn’t work out for that. We ended up bottling it as a varietal, but decided to keep the name.
The graphic is a Scottish castle.
