Stunning Wine Bottles That Taste As Good As They Look

Laura Riches initiated the wine-in-a-box company, Laylo, aiming to create ‘beautiful boxes that could take pride of place on a kitchen counter’. The design of each variety is bespoke. Hours are spent discussing with winemakers, learning local craftsmanship, and tapping into fabrics, wallpapers, and artwork. The inspiration is then channeled into captivating designs. The French sauvignon blanc, wrapped in the toile-de-Jouy-style and depicts scenes from the life of the winemaker, is one of my favorites.

Laylo is not the only brand pushing boundaries. Many wines, encompassing both bottled and boxed varieties, now boast packaging as captivating as their taste. This marks a significant transition from times when intricate designs and a burst of colors on wine labels were often met with judgment. However, these assumptions would have been accurate to some extent during that era.

Château Mouton Rothschild, which introduced the concept of collectible art labels by incorporating designs by acclaimed artists, has always been an exception. The brand defied the widespread belief that flamboyant labels likely housed average or subpar wine. These days, however, things have changed. Artisan wines, often produced in smaller batches, are likely to feature a remarkable label.

Take for instance The Sourcing Table wines, with their packaging so attractive you might think visual appeal was the main selection criteria. Then, there’s the experimental Don’t Feed the Ponies assortment by Sharpham at Sandridge Barton in Devon. This collection includes a light red blend of four ‘pinot’ grapes, an orange wine, and a cloudy sparkling ‘col fondo’ style wine (like the same-named proseccos, it undergoes primary fermentation in a tank, then in the bottle). Every wine in the Don’t Feed the Ponies line is named after a Dartmoor tor and bears an impressive label designed by a local artist.

A post shared by Sharpham Wine at our new home (@sandridgebarton)

A clever label can also tell a story. Brit Katie Jones, who makes gorgeous wines in the rugged Languedoc, has a wine called Along Came Jones Hairy Grenache. The label features a comic-strip with Jones as the hero, who discovers she’s growing a type of grenache that’s different to everyone else’s.

Others simply stand out. There’s a school of labels whose backgrounds are a high-saturation, single-block colour, like the lapis blue of Domaine Equis’ Equinoxe Crozes-Hermitage or the strong red of the Grand Aven of Vignerons Ardéchois (both of these wines are sold by Yapp).

None of this is to say that supermarkets and discount chains are slacking. Two of the most beautiful labels among this year’s crop are on bottles of Greek wine in Aldi. I love the octopus whose golden tentacles wind around the assyrtiko-syrah rosé.

Speaking of rosé, in this aisle it’s not just the label that is highly stylised. There are square bottles, round bottles, bottles that are squat and bottles that are tall with voluptuous curves; bottles whose glass forms pleat-like ridges to refract sunlight in glittering patterns, and bottles made from chunky glass with the palest hint of green. Some, like Whispering Angel spin-offs The Beach and The Pale (which features a sketch of café society), have labels that allude to the holiday feeling you might hope to have when you’re drinking them.

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About the Author: Chris Lehoux

Meet Chris Lehoux, an experienced wine connoisseur and dedicated blogger with a deep passion for all things wine-related. With years of expertise in the industry, Chris shares insightful wine reviews, valuable wine tasting tips, expert pairing advice, and captivating tales of vineyard visits. Join Chris on a journey through the world of wine, where every sip is an adventure waiting to be savored!