Gareth Trickey, the owner of this particular wine, sent this in to us with some rather interesting thoughts on the packaging from the client side. Rhodes Wingrove in Australia did the design.
Read more about the thought behind the design from a client’s view after the jump.
“Blowfly
is an estate grown wine of Warrumbungle Wines, which is itself a small
family owned business producing up to 3000 cases/year… out in the
Australian bush. The vineyard is in a practically unheard of (but
uniquely suitable) growing region of NSW and so when it came to
labelling the wine I had both the challenge and the luxury of
generating something from scratch without the constraints of tradition
or convention. And being small and unknown in a virtually saturated
market I knew we had to make a particularly bold statement if anyone
was to notice us.
is an estate grown wine of Warrumbungle Wines, which is itself a small
family owned business producing up to 3000 cases/year… out in the
Australian bush. The vineyard is in a practically unheard of (but
uniquely suitable) growing region of NSW and so when it came to
labelling the wine I had both the challenge and the luxury of
generating something from scratch without the constraints of tradition
or convention. And being small and unknown in a virtually saturated
market I knew we had to make a particularly bold statement if anyone
was to notice us.
So
when I conceived the idea for Blowfly I was looking for something that
would really stir people and preferably shock them if possible. I feel
quite passionately that the wine industry in Australia has to be shaken
out of its homogeneity, and I’m happy to be the one to slap consumers
in the face in the process.
when I conceived the idea for Blowfly I was looking for something that
would really stir people and preferably shock them if possible. I feel
quite passionately that the wine industry in Australia has to be shaken
out of its homogeneity, and I’m happy to be the one to slap consumers
in the face in the process.
When
assessing other wine labels in Australia, a recurring image in my mind
was that a large proportion were like butterflies– bright,
ostentatious, narcissistic… but lacking real substance (often due to
them being corporate owned). I wanted to be the opposite. Being
somewhat of a purist I wanted to be known primarily for the contents of
the bottle, not for what was on the surface. But how on earth does one
get noticed without being colourful and flamboyant?
assessing other wine labels in Australia, a recurring image in my mind
was that a large proportion were like butterflies– bright,
ostentatious, narcissistic… but lacking real substance (often due to
them being corporate owned). I wanted to be the opposite. Being
somewhat of a purist I wanted to be known primarily for the contents of
the bottle, not for what was on the surface. But how on earth does one
get noticed without being colourful and flamboyant?
For
me Blowfly became the obvious antidote to the butterfly. I was quite
doubtful at first, but then the obvious paradox won me over. The idea
of a grotesque blowfly on a bottle of wine (the epitome of
sophistication) was so incongruous that I figured if we succeeded we
would have something special. It helps that the blowie is also
entrenched in Australian culture and easily as familiar as a kangaroo.
me Blowfly became the obvious antidote to the butterfly. I was quite
doubtful at first, but then the obvious paradox won me over. The idea
of a grotesque blowfly on a bottle of wine (the epitome of
sophistication) was so incongruous that I figured if we succeeded we
would have something special. It helps that the blowie is also
entrenched in Australian culture and easily as familiar as a kangaroo.
I
took the concept to Ian Wingrove of Rhodes Wingrove and he and his team
designed a beautifully minimalist label. Where the ‘butterflies’ were
ornate and colourful, Blowfly was black and white, and simple. Gill
Sans was an obvious choice then for the logo, and a ‘bone’ white gave
the label a bit of warmth. And in contrast to most other wines on the
shelf, the bottle is almost entirely black… which sticks out when
surrounded by bold colours. For a bit of contrast and to differentiate
the varietals a touch of colour was added, but only in the neck rings.
To fully capture the simplicity of the the design the labels were
printed directly onto the bottle (by Kingfisher Glass) with the
unintentional result that peering through an empty bottle reveals what
looks like an actual fly loitering on the glass.
took the concept to Ian Wingrove of Rhodes Wingrove and he and his team
designed a beautifully minimalist label. Where the ‘butterflies’ were
ornate and colourful, Blowfly was black and white, and simple. Gill
Sans was an obvious choice then for the logo, and a ‘bone’ white gave
the label a bit of warmth. And in contrast to most other wines on the
shelf, the bottle is almost entirely black… which sticks out when
surrounded by bold colours. For a bit of contrast and to differentiate
the varietals a touch of colour was added, but only in the neck rings.
To fully capture the simplicity of the the design the labels were
printed directly onto the bottle (by Kingfisher Glass) with the
unintentional result that peering through an empty bottle reveals what
looks like an actual fly loitering on the glass.
For
me the whole label is a big question mark. In tastings, almost
everyone wants to know “Why the fly?” And even those who are repulsed
by the fly end up wanting to taste the wine. I’ve watched people
approach the bottles with totally perplexed looks. And I’ve had many
people come to my stand and wine shows with huge grins on their faces.
Ultimately, my answer to the many questions about the origins of
Blowfly boil down to… a question of taste. Whether or not a fly
belongs on a bottle of wine is totally subjective, and similarly I want
punters to be subjective about the wine they drink… not swayed by
what they think they should like to drink, or from what regions they
should drink.
me the whole label is a big question mark. In tastings, almost
everyone wants to know “Why the fly?” And even those who are repulsed
by the fly end up wanting to taste the wine. I’ve watched people
approach the bottles with totally perplexed looks. And I’ve had many
people come to my stand and wine shows with huge grins on their faces.
Ultimately, my answer to the many questions about the origins of
Blowfly boil down to… a question of taste. Whether or not a fly
belongs on a bottle of wine is totally subjective, and similarly I want
punters to be subjective about the wine they drink… not swayed by
what they think they should like to drink, or from what regions they
should drink.
Subsequently,
I have developed further labels with very similar designs– Dominus
Muscidae (‘Lord of the Flies’ in Latin) for our reserve wine, and for
our blends bluebottle and greenbottle which are red and white wines
respectively (in a blue bottle and green bottle).“
