Ah, wine label gimmicks.
I recently praised some wine labels as visual art, and now this comes along. Klingon Blood wine!
I have to confess, I’m not a Trekkie, I don’t speak Klingon and I can’t remember watching any of the various Star Trek incarnations. So, I guess I’m not the target audience.
Even though I occasionally buy wine based on the label, the juice inside is what counts. And this stuff is actually pretty good.
2012 Star Trek Klingon Bloodwine
California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
A bright magenta color. Bursting with ripe fruits on the nose (blackberries, blueberries, plums and raisins), some sweet lavender, vanilla and mocha. 
On the palate, medium tannins, actually some moderate acid, this wine has a juicy and chewy feel to it, but at 13% alcohol it’s not overwhelming. Lots of blackberry, roasted figs, blueberry pie, dashed with earth, coffee, some black pepper. I get some mocha and red licorice, along with dusty-peppery elements on the finish.
I wasn’t expecting much, but I’m surprised by the structure and complexity of this wine. A unique blend of 37% Malbec, 37% Syrah and 26% Petit Verdot.
Paso Robles is known for producing burly, teeth-staining reds, but this one takes a more subtle approach. I could see pairing this wine with a lot of hearty winter fare, but its light enough to drink with barbecue or roast chicken and veggies.
Gimmick wines frequently contain yummy but uninteresting juice. This one made me stop and think, just a little bit. Fancy that.
The wine is available now for $20 from Vinport, and may soon make the trek to a retailer near you. I'm not saying you should go and buy this, but I've spent $20 on far less exciting wines.
Of course, we love wine because it brings us together with others. So, if you're a Star Trek fan, and your Star Trek friends enjoy wine, you should purchase this wine immediately.
Hey, when is the Star Wars Darth Maul-bec coming out?
“I buy wine based on the label.”
Countless friends and acquaintances have confessed this to me over the years, although few would attach their names to the quote. When I hear this admission, I respond the same way: Of course you do. Everyone does.
There’s no need to apologize. Wine labels impact us, and we respond. This is a simple, honest acknowledgement of a concept we all understand: looks matter. In a world where everything is a commodity, it is crucial that commodities appeal to our visual senses.
There’s an academic paper in here for sure, something like: Aesthetics of the Wine Label – On the Convergence of Art, Agriculture and the Consumer Mind. There are studies and consumer trends and charts to be examined. But that’s what wine companies pay consultants for.
In the meantime, let’s break it down into digestible chunks.
Alcoholic products come in bottles. A bottle of wine presents itself to the consumer in a very direct and immediate way. You’re not just purchasing fermented grape juice from a particular time, place and producer. You’re purchasing a bottle of a wine — a product, a physical object you can grip in your hand.
You’re buying the shape of the bottle, the label, the cork and the foil. All of these elements are inseparable from the overall experience of smelling and tasting the wine. In other words, the physical object and the act of consuming its contents are interconnected.
I am not in any way suggesting you should buy a bottle of wine based solely on how attractive you find its label. You’d probably end up with some seriously forgettable wine. But, on the other hand, if a wine is well-made and speaks truthfully of its time and place, why not wrap the bottle in something visual interesting?
Just like language on a wine label can be poetry, images on a wine label can be visual art. All wineries use the label to communicate with consumers, but some take the artistic aspect seriously. Perhaps the best example is Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Every year, this first-growth Bordeaux works with a different renowned artist to create a memorable label. Past vintages have boasted paintings from Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and many more.
I can’t afford to drink Mouton, but I came across my share of memorable wine labels this year, bottles I consider artful. Like any piece of visual artwork, different people appreciate different images. So you may hate one or more of these, and that’s fine.
But these five labels jumped out at me. They intrigued me. They piqued my interest and made me wonder about the person behind the bottle. What more can you ask of a wine label?
I love Old World wine labels, but all six of my favorites this year hail from California. (Pictures below the fold.)
