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Brits lack an open mind on wine labels
British wine consumers are less open-minded about wine label designs than their French counterparts, according to Burgundy producer Henri Darnat.
Speaking at the Corney & Barrow Burgundy 2009 en primeur tasting at the Tower of London last Thursday, Darnat told the drinks business that he was unable to launch his redesigned labels in the UK due to consumer distaste.
“One of our retail clients in France asked us if we could redesign our label in order to stand out more on the shelves and attract customer attention," he said.
“So we modernised the label for the French and US markets, but had to keep the traditional label for the British market to ensure that the wine would keep selling.
“It seems the Brits are happy for New World wines to have modern labels, but they want to see traditional labels on French wines. There are two different sets of rules.
“We’ve had no problem with the new labels in France – the French are becoming more open-minded about breaking with tradition”, Darnat said.
Burgundy-based Domaine Henri Darnat produces Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard, Volnay and Beaune in the region.
The French and UK labels for its Meursault 1er Cru Clos Richemont differ drastically. While the French label is bold, eye-catching and contemporary, the UK label, featuring Darnat’s signature, is classic and understated.
Lucy Shaw 17.01.2011
I have to agree that this new “contemporary” label design is “eye-catching”. But only because the typography is so breathtakingly poor.
A bit of a non-story IMHO. And rather a gross generalisation on the part of Darnat to infer from the British reaction to his new labels that we are less open-minded about label design in general.
I would suggest that the reason Darnat’s new label hasn’t been accepted here is not that it is modern, but that it is appallingly badly designed. First, blue is a colour that should normally be avoided on wine labels. A few high-end bottles manage to get away with it (Sassicaia and Clos Apalta spring to mind), but generally it’s anathema.
Secondly, the way the big blue rectangle cuts through the letters in Cru and Controlée [sic – where’s the circumflex?] is grotesquely inelegant. Thirdly, the super-condensed type used for “Meursault 1er Cru” looks like someone has taken a text box in Microsoft Paint and stretched it until they thought it looked “contemporary”. In fact, it looks cheap. I could go on…
By contrast, the old label may not be thrilling, but at least looks like it was designed by a professional. The good people at C&B are spot on insisting on keeping the old label.
Still, he got a nice plug for his monopole out of it, didn’t he?
This looks like something a client might apologetically do in powerpoint before approaching an agency…. many French brands are totally contemporary on an international level. This is not one of them
I am frequently presented with “bold, eye-catching and contemporary” labels from France which are, to say the least, complete dross and do nothing to promote classic French wine. It saddens me to see great wines, from great producers, in great regions offered with such casual disregard for intelligent design and marketing. Burgundy, Bordeaux and so on should be playing to their strengths and highlighting tradition, coupled with style, not attempting to ape the new world with dreadfully-executed “designs”. This is the country that gave us Chanel (and Chagall) for Heaven’s sake. Alex Hunt is spot on with his summary; Paul and dare! ditto. If it’s any comfort to Monsieur Darnat, the label we have in the UK is spot on and as far as I’m concerned, need never change.
It’s important that the label matches the quality of wine, in the interest of the consumer.
We have reached a stage where you can’t judge a book by it’s over!
Frankly some wine labels defy belief when it comes to design. No imagination whatsoever. Who is responsible for them? Is it the design agencies used or does the decision rest with some ‘fat cat’ at the wine companies? Time to get some fresh design thinking I say. Come on wine lovers, time to make our voices heard.