South Australian Patritti Wines has taken out the coveted International Wine and Spirit Competition’s award for the world’s most beautiful wine label.
The winery was recognised on the global stage for the calibre of its packaging on the Patritti 2017 Merchant Shiraz.
The judges’ comments recognised the label as “meaningful and memorable … a beautifully simple and elegant label that demands attention in a completely honest and authentic way … The label is balanced and timeless, reflecting family history and Italian styling.”
Judge and design expert, Ivan Mato says the design caught the judges’ eye as soon as they entered the room.
“We saw the family’s story in the photograph and love how the typography becomes a watermark, blending the contrasts of old and new – overall it is a very progressive and memorable wine label,” he said.
Patritti’s managing director, Ines Patritti said winning the Wine Artwork and Bottle Design award for their 2017 Merchant Shiraz is being celebrated through the entire company.
“To be internationally recognised for the quality and personality of our packaging is such an honour for everyone involved,” she said.
“We intentionally stepped away from our traditionally conservative label designs to develop a completely new look for the Merchant Series.
“Adopting the bolder label was an important step for us in winning the attention of a younger Australian audience – a move we are also pleased caught the attention of international judges too.
“While the label needed to be fresh and interesting, it also needed to recognise the deep history of Patritti and tell the story of its founder, my father Giovanni Patritti.”
Patritti Wines worked with local South Australian company Parallax Design to bring the new label to life.
Parallax Design’s Matt Remphrey said the challenge was striking a balance between the winery’s rich history and its exciting future.
“Stories handed down through the family along with photographic archives dating back to Patritti’s 1926 establishment gave us a great backdrop against which to create the ultimately progressive label,” he noted.
“To strike this balance between old and new, a photo of Giovanni and his long-time friend and employee, Cristiano (Jimmy) Bisacca was selected, and an edgy, bold typography was overlaid on the photo.
“While the typography is strikingly modern, it is reminiscent of popular font styles from Italy in the 1920s, the era when Giovanni first left Italy for Australia – giving the label another blend between old and new.”
The London-based International Wine and Spirit Competition is the world’s longest running competition, setting the benchmark for quality and recognising the world’s best wines and spirits for the last 50 years.
Drinks and design experts Neil Ridley, Rashna Mody Clark and Ivan Mato this year judged over 250 entries across three categories in the IWSC Design Awards, which reward innovation, creativity and brand personality in wine and spirit artwork, bottle design and packaging.
The IWSC also awarded a Highly Commended in the category to De Bortoli for its Florence Broadhurst Botrytis Semillon wine label.
The judges said: "The use of celebrated Australian artist Florence Broadhurst’s illustration and prominence of the artist’s name adds another level of meaning to the bottle, which is both elegantly designed and very striking with the die cut label. The contrast of the black and white label and amber wine is very arresting, giving an overall appearance of sophistication."
In addition to its award-winning label, Patritti has been awarded the coveted red five-star winery status by international wine icon, James Halliday, and maintains this ranking by receiving over 90 points for multiple wines each year, including the label winning Merchant Shiraz.
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