The Problem
This ultra-premium wine from prime land in the Santa Rita Hills began life as “Vin du Vent,” and its label was… kelly green. Green for the whites, and blue for the reds. Clearly, something had to be done.
The Solution
After a wide-ranging exploration of names, themes, and imagery including Torii gates, mandalas, the number 3, and the legend of the phoenix, Rarus was born.
I’m not usually a huge proponent of foil stamping (especially in gold), on a wine label — in fact more than once I’ve dismissed it as a thoughtless cliché that can actually bring down the perceived value of the wine. I had originally specced a rather gorgeous pale gunmetal foil, and I kept pestering my very patient pre-press team with questions about how to dull its shine and keep things tasteful.
But with its field of rich black, intricately embossed motif from a Tibetan Buddhist prayer flag, and expressive but stately logotype, this label simply cried out for a bit of opulence. So I changed it on press to a warm gold that, on nearly any other label, would be completely over the top.
Behold Rarus — proof that rules are made to be broken.
