Apparently, the third time really is the charm. Although our first two contests attracted hundreds of great labels, this year the number of entries skyrocketed, and the quality of the artwork hit a high point, too. When the WineMaker staff gathered to judge the entries, it took the better part of a day — and lots of sort-of-friendly arguments — simply to cut the stack in half. Picking the winners was even harder. Though we’re always excited for the people who pull down the prizes, it’s tough to put the remaining labels in the also-ran pile. That’s because every entry represents the time, talent, creative energy and artistic vibe of someone who matters a great deal to us: a WineMaker reader. The labels offer images that are personal and sometimes poignant: baby pictures, faded snapshots, photos of people’s homes, vineyards, ancestors and friends. There are recipes for homemade tomato sauce, hand-drawn illustrations and cartoons, and jokes that made us laugh even if they weren’t really funny. You laugh just because someone tried. In the end, that’s what our contest is all about. Thanks for being a part of it.
GRAND PRIZE:
Sara Bowers
Hayward, California
Prize: Three-station Italian bottle filler from Grape and Granary; Winery Master home winemaking software from Winery Master; 45-bottle tree and rinser from Leener’s Brew Works
“Long before I began my career as a graphic designer, I had a passion for wine labels. In fact, I started making labels for fun before I started making my own wine! Not too long ago my husband Greg and I planted our first little vineyard, but it hasn’t produced any grapes yet. So far we have used fresh grapes from a local vineyard that crushes them for us. The base artwork for these labels came from the old art nouveau posters by artist Alphonse Mucha. Using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, I updated the look with art nouveau fonts and altered other features to make them into exotic, unique and hopefully eye-catching little labels. On some labels I replaced whatever item each woman was holding with a wine glass. The poppies on the inside of the back Muscat label have a great magnifying effect when the bottle is filled!”
GOLD PRIZE:
Dr. Raphy Singer
Beit-Shemesh, Israel
Prize: Gift certificate from Maltose Express; Winery Master home winemaking software from Winery Master; Wine Label™ design
software packages from LabelWare Computing Ltd.; Techniques in Home Winemaking by Daniel Pambianchi from Vehicule Press
“I began making wine in 1982 in South Africa because I needed some kosher wine. I’ve since become qualified as a doctor and moved to Israel, where I started a family and continued my winemaking. The artwork for this label was done by my daughter, Natalie, at age 7. She used water-based paints and hot glue for dimension. I scanned the picture into my computer and composed the label using Microsoft Publisher. After printing the label on my inkjet printer I had colorfast color copies made. Whenever I serve this wine, I point proudly at Natalie as I recount the story of how she helped.”
SILVER PRIZE
Matt Carmack
Atlanta, Georgia
Prize: One dozen personalized wine glasses from Slinger Mill Glass Etching; Gold Sommelier and Gold Pour-n-Cork set from The Perfect Sommelier
“This is the label design for my very first batch of wine: Cabernet Sauvignon from a kit. So far I’ve had good luck with kits, but I plan to also try fresh grapes once I’ve had more practice. The label design was inspired by my crazy cat, Max. I adopted him as a stray when he showed up at my office, where I work as the art director for a financial marketing company. During my winemaking he was forever at my feet trying to get into everything, but he’s still fun to have around. I created this label in Photoshop using my Macintosh computer. I found the illustration on the Web and it looks just like Max!”
BRONZE PRIZE
James Goodwin
Washington, New Jersey
Prize: A 50-pound pail of Straight-A cleanser from Logic, Inc; Winery Master home winemaking software from Winery Master
“I’m a self-taught, amateur graphic artist who used Photoshop to create this design for my dad’s wine. I’m a recent graduate looking to get into advertising or Web design. This label is adapted from a contact sheet of photos I had recently taken at Sunset Beach, North Carolina. The beach is perfect to represent a summer wine, and the blue tone nicely
complements the blue bottles the labels will be placed on. As for my choice of the David Berman quote, I wanted something vibrant, something affirming. This one just found me. The house is my father’s old Theta Chi house from Lafayette College, where he first fell in love with wine. He started off making wine from kits but now experiments with several methods using apples, strawberries and mangoes, among other fruits.”
HONORABLE MENTION
Agnese Muravska
Vermillion, SD
Prize: White Labs polo shirt
Bruce and Judy Lorenz
Rio Rancho, NM
Prize: Alcobase kit, a carbon filter system and a selection of Still Spirit flavors from Steinbart Wholesale
Dan McFeeley
Kankakee, IL
Prize: Double Blast bottle washer, quick
connect utility hose, kitchen faucet adapter and spare nozzle set from Fermtech Ltd.
John Yacoviello
Weirton, WV
Prize: 36-bottle wood wine rack from The Epicurean, Inc.
Layne Montgomery
Folsom, CA
Prize: Digital laboratory-grade pH meter from Thomas Scientific
Randall Martin
The Woodlands, TX
Prize: LIQUOR QUIK high-alcohol starter package including Super Yeast, Super-KLEER K.C. finings, and assorted premium liqueur essences from Winemakeri Inc.
David Leonard
Sacramento, CA
Prize: Faucet adapter bottle washer and sulfite test kit from Thomas Scientific
Lawrence Volland
Lockport, NY
Prize: 80-bottle drainer tree, and bottle rinser and sulfite spritzer from The Market Basket (www.BrewCitySupplies.com)
Kevin Kozak
San Diego, CA
Prize: Watch from Wine Not International, Inc.
Dr. Boyce Clark
Baton Rouge, LA
Prize: Hand-painted ceramic wine
trivet from High Country Store; Wine Label™ design software package from LabelWare Inc.
Michael Miller
Rochester, NY
Prize: Flexible foam bottle and cylinder
washer from Thomas Scientific; The Perfect Sommelier from Woodstick Wines, Inc.
Wendy and Scott Shapiro
Sacramento, CA
Prize: Precision acid test kit from Annapolis Home Brew; Wine Bag from Wine Not International, Inc.
Marti Czarnecki
Walnutport, PA
Prize: Faucet adapter bottle washer and sulfite test kit from Thomas Scientific
Celeste Byrd
Poyen, AR
Prize: Women’s fleece jacket from White Labs
Stephen Patrizio
Media, PA
Prize: Flexible foam bottle and cylinder
washer from Thomas Scientific; The Perfect Sommelier from Woodstick Wines Inc.
Joan Huff
Louisville, KY
Prize: Precision magnetic hydrometer from Annapolis Home Brew; five coupons for wine yeast from White Labs
Greg Abrom
Rutherford, NJ
Prize: 90-bottle rotating drainer tree with
bottle rinser from Quality Wine and Ale
Henry Ratz
Fiddletown, CA
Prize: Wine Label™ design software
package from LabelWare Computing Ltd.; Digital long-stem thermometer from Thomas Scientific
Paul Mirowski
La Mesa, CA
Prize: Wine Label™ design software package from LabelWare Computing Ltd.; talking digital timer from Thomas Scientific
Karen Schrader
Spring Hill, FL
Prize: Monogrammed polo shirt, two 125-ml
XL packages of wine yeast, and one
1.5-ounce package of yeast nutrient from Wyeast Laboratories
Jeanne Abbott
Des Moines, IA
Prize: Wine Label™ design software package from LabelWare Computing Ltd.; five coupons for wine yeast from White Labs
Dean Percival
Cape Girardeau, MO
Prize: Travel Bag from Wine Not International, Inc.
Dr. and Mrs. John Cozzarelli
Nutley, NJ
Prize: Matching pair of logo T-shirts, two 125-ml XL packages of wine yeast, and one 1.5-ounce package of yeast nutrient from Wyeast Laboratories
Jim May
Scranton, PA
Prize: Watch from Wine Not International, Inc.
Lee Goodman
Baltimore, MD
Prize: White Labs polo shirt
It may be plonk, but - our grand prize winner shows - that doesn't mean the label can't be cool. See all the winners of WineMaker's annual label contest.
