In a recent opinion article on the Huffington Post by Daniel Altman entitled “Why I Don’t Taste Wine Blindly,” the convention of the “blind tasting” in wine culture is discussed. The practice, where interested tasters sample vintages without being informed of what they’re drinking, is overrated, according to Altman. Chief among the points he makes in his argument is that wine labels can heighten the tasting experience. In his view, all of the elements that more experienced tasters might dismiss as trivial contribute to a person’s understanding of that particular drink and should not be neglected.
“Indeed, everything about a bottle – its label, the details of the wine’s production, or a statement from the winemaker – can become a positive part of the drinking experience, like knowing an author’s biography when you read a novel,” Altman writes.
It’s a reasonable point of view that gets at the larger purpose behind designing high quality labels: not just for wine, but any type of product. Every production decision reflects on the intention and quality of the thing made, and a wine with a unique, carefully crafted label can really distinguish itself. Even minor things like the type of ink and label material used or the positioning of a certain logo can plant an association in the buyer’s mind that can influence his or her experience with that wine – and that can be good or bad, depending on how much effort the producer devotes to this aspect of its projects.
These days, there are special benefits for a winemaker that can reach a wide number of people in a creative way. Producers with the tools to be more ambitious can circumvent more common ideas and go for labels that help them stand out. A system like a Primera LX900 color label printer can aid in this sort of strategy by giving more control to those actually making the wine.