Criticism sucks. I fucking hate it. Truly. Which means I must be a masochist, because only a masochist would redesign his labels every year. It's not a good way to make money, to be sure, and everyone has their own opinions on wine labels (I should call them theories), and not all of them are kind. Despite this fact, I find myself compelled, (uncertainly, but compelled nonetheless) to do it. Doing the art is the part I love. It's one of the things that makes Crosby Roamann so much fun and so different from almost all the other brands out there (Manfred Krankl, to whom I do not stand a candle, and Mouthon Rothschild ... ditto .... excepted, of course). But our labels have evoked violent and ofttimes polar emotional responses, and I wasn't prepared for that.
That said, I cannot imagine doing anything differently, and if I had to give up doing our labels, I might just give up releasing our wine commercially. So at least for one more year we're releasing new wines with new labels.
The first is our new label for "Eternal Return" -- our 2010 St. Helena AVA, Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, pictured above. This photograph was taken by Juliana as we were driving into a thunderstorm in some southwestern desert last year. We disagree over precisely where she took the picture. It may have been Utah or Wyoming; it may have been outside Las Vegas. We both remember me saying, "take a picture! take a picture!" and her saying, "It's a good thing you're driving," (Juliana doesn't like driving in the rain). I think we both felt a tornado was about to swoop us up and deliver us to Oz.
Maybe it raises the question why: why this picture? Why the name "Eternal Return?" "Eternal return" is a reference, essentially, to the idea that all "this" has happened before, that all "this" will happen again. I'd say it's essentially an homage to my philosophy degree (which never proved too useful in the "real" world,") as well to the idea, perhaps the feeling, that all roads lead inexplicably back to oneself ... eventually. To explain what that has to do with wine, well, even I can't really do that. I'd guess it has something to do with the idea that *my* roads feel like they have lead me here, to Napa, for better or worse.
Our other wine, perhaps the more interesting of the two, is "Dark Garden" -- our 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced primarily from Atlas Peak, with eighteen months in 80+% new oak, 6% Petit Verdot, 14.9% alcohol, unfined, unfiltered, and just a whole lot of lovely funk on the back end. I'm (slowly) becoming a big believer in this wine, but only bottle-time will tell. The drawing for this I did myself. It features a dragon embossed in silver on a black field. The name "dark garden" refers to a beautiful little house in Stags Leaps we spent a couple nights at last year when bottling the 2010 release. It had a large garden in back that the girls loved running through, and it was some night when we were sitting in the dark garden with a couple bottles of wine and a couple good friends that I started working on this label that was when the wine itself started to take shape in my mind, not just the label but the wine itself. More than that I can't say...
That said, I cannot imagine doing anything differently, and if I had to give up doing our labels, I might just give up releasing our wine commercially. So at least for one more year we're releasing new wines with new labels.
The first is our new label for "Eternal Return" -- our 2010 St. Helena AVA, Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, pictured above. This photograph was taken by Juliana as we were driving into a thunderstorm in some southwestern desert last year. We disagree over precisely where she took the picture. It may have been Utah or Wyoming; it may have been outside Las Vegas. We both remember me saying, "take a picture! take a picture!" and her saying, "It's a good thing you're driving," (Juliana doesn't like driving in the rain). I think we both felt a tornado was about to swoop us up and deliver us to Oz.
Maybe it raises the question why: why this picture? Why the name "Eternal Return?" "Eternal return" is a reference, essentially, to the idea that all "this" has happened before, that all "this" will happen again. I'd say it's essentially an homage to my philosophy degree (which never proved too useful in the "real" world,") as well to the idea, perhaps the feeling, that all roads lead inexplicably back to oneself ... eventually. To explain what that has to do with wine, well, even I can't really do that. I'd guess it has something to do with the idea that *my* roads feel like they have lead me here, to Napa, for better or worse.
Our other wine, perhaps the more interesting of the two, is "Dark Garden" -- our 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced primarily from Atlas Peak, with eighteen months in 80+% new oak, 6% Petit Verdot, 14.9% alcohol, unfined, unfiltered, and just a whole lot of lovely funk on the back end. I'm (slowly) becoming a big believer in this wine, but only bottle-time will tell. The drawing for this I did myself. It features a dragon embossed in silver on a black field. The name "dark garden" refers to a beautiful little house in Stags Leaps we spent a couple nights at last year when bottling the 2010 release. It had a large garden in back that the girls loved running through, and it was some night when we were sitting in the dark garden with a couple bottles of wine and a couple good friends that I started working on this label that was when the wine itself started to take shape in my mind, not just the label but the wine itself. More than that I can't say...
Love the wine and love the idea behind the labels, but there is something jarring about the layout with the ornate foiled font and the ruled box around the image... and the super clean Bodoni on the rear label... that disconnect is intentional, no?
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew - thanks for your comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the wine.
ReplyDeleteIn working with different images every year to create the front labels I found that having a border/bounding box helped focus and center the images. To create some continuity from year to year I also have the Crosby Roamann name in script (we also use branded capsules and very high quality natural corks every year to the same end). This year we added the company motto "CUPIENS VIDERE LUCEM" to the front labels as well.
By contrast, the back labels I put together purely for information: all of the relevant wine info (most required by the TTB, some simply because we think it's important) but nothing else. I don't tell stories or give background about the wines - that should be conveyed by the image on the front label, and someone drinking our wine should be able to determine for themselves what it tastes like.
There is certainly juxtaposition in this methodology. I don't find it jarring per se, but each label serves a very different purpose and I would agree that there is a disconnect between what the TTB requires, what we think is important (eg, the name of the wine, the sub-AVA, and the case production) and what the front label is meant to convey.