HELLBENT SHIRAZ CABERNET 2006The
Whitefish Group of Vancouver recently introduced a new wine to their line of imported foods and beverages – a 2006 Hellbent Shiraz Cabernet.
To create the wine, Whitefish president
Jay Garnett enlisted the help of winemaker
Kevin O’Brien of
Kangarilla Road Winery who selected grapes grown in South Australia’s McLaren Vale. Imported into BC as a specialty listing, the end product is an easy drinking, fruit forward blend that is redolent with blackberries and spice. Pretty good, actually. Stickered at $16.99, it’s a good value, medium-priced wine.
However, what we find most interesting about this bottle, is how Whitefish designed the label specifically for the Canadian market. On the left is the original concept, a classical etching which depicts the angel Lucifer being cast out of Heaven. It’s one that is still used in some of the wine’s marketing materials.
On the right, is the B.C. version, one that plays on the “down under” association of Australia by placing the name upside down and at the bottom of a blank, white label. (Which, by the way, in the publishing world, is also an old trick for getting readers to notice magazine ads.)
At a recent launch party for Hellbent held at
George Ultralounge in Yaletown, O’Brien explained the thinking behind this more puritanical branding. “The BC market is so savvy about wine,” he said, “the Hellbent needed no gimmicks or explanations in its presentation, even to a relatively young demographic.” (Or maybe its because the Liquor Board is refusing to stock its shelves with amy more artwork featuring neon-coloured animals or quasi religious icons.)
Either way, we found the lack of hyped up design and shouting labels rather soothing after a long day of squinting at scrolls of type on a computer screen. One less thing to have to read. Plus, there is the freedom of imagination factor. We can see dinner guests playing Pictionary games on the label, or challenging each other to “draw a portrait of the person sitting across the table.”
The later best done when the bottle is empty of course, both for reasons of tablecloth safety, as well as the more interesting possibility of relationship fallout after creative inhibitions go to Hell.
