Something caught our eye at Bistro Ralph in Healdsburg, CA and it wasn't the charming room.
It was the unique astrology-inspired horizontally-placed VML black-and-white label which tells a whimsical story of the woman winemaker as sorceress — blending natural elements through rich black images within a utopian backdrop. The illustrations seem to move with the seasons as insects, flowers, and human kind are in sync with the planting calendar.
The visual story of the winemaker as a sorceress and the lovely Pinot Noir was riveting combination. Beyond compelling — we had to visit the winery.
{photos by The Dieline Wine & VML Winers}
VML Winery opened in April 2011 at the location previously occupied by Belvedere Winery owned by Bill Hambrecht and later C. Donatiello. The winery is named for winemaker Virginia “Ginny” Marie Lambrix and is a partnership of Bill and Woody Hambrecht, Phil Hurst, Mark De Mawulenaere and Paul and Heath Dolan.
Ginny’s approach to winemaking is organic and biodynamic. In a 2011 interview in Wine Business, she was was quoted as saying “I do believe there is something more to the vitality of the estate when the person farming it is completely engaged. Biodynamics is a really elegant way to farm, and I think the wines that come out of grapes that are grown Biodynamically are more interesting.”
At the winery located on Westside Road in Sonoma County, the wine menu uses similar graphic elements. The tasting room, with large pounded brass bar, is a perfect backdrop.
The graphics for VML were created by Stranger & Stranger, a packaging design agency for spirits, beer, and wine based in London. Within firms website, the case study copy describes the inspiration for the collateral with cheeky humor: "Ginny Lambrix is a witch. Ok, she’s not a pointy-hat-broomstick kind of witch but she's a biodynamic winemaker and she does things with potions and skulls that just sound a bit too witchy. So we made her a label that was suitably worshipful."
As fashion continues to embrace the celestial trend, it's only logical that other industries adopt tactics and themes that already resonate with a design-conscious demographic. We love astronomical objects and the biodynamic philosophy with artistic integrity in a rich scheme.
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