Leslie Bowlus contacted me about her new project, Sense of Place wines. Leslie wanted to source fruit from high quality single vineyard properties from Monterey and Central Coast appellations. Her focus was on small lot Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that met her specific standards as well as her son Garrett, who is a winemaker in the Carmel Valley.
Leslie also had specific standards for the look and feel of her package design. She wanted her label to reflect her focus on terroir; all the forces that influence a wine. Our first assignment was to capture all of this in an icon. Together with illustrator Tom Hennessy, we created an abstract logo that brought everything together. Leslie, as it turned out, was an art major in college. Learning this answered a lot of questions for me. Her sense of detail and focus drove the entire process.
We created both a premium and a mid range tier package designs for Sense of Place. The mid range Pinot Noir, Coastal Cuvée, was Pinot Noir sourced from the Monterey County appellation. We decided to differentiate the designs with color and brighter branding. The premium packages were executed in foils and multi-level embossing to reflect the higher price point.
2016