Today, the bottle labels of many wineries are often designed by artists. Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988), who started this trend after the Second World War, is considered the founder. Many producers then followed this example. See the wine law issues under label, wine designation law and wine law.
The label of the famous wine estate in the Médoc region of France has been created annually by a contemporary artist since the 1945 vintage; the first was the painter Philippe Jullian. The artists receive a few cases of the vintage in question as their fee. As a rare exception, the 2003 vintage does not feature an artist's painting, but rather a photo of the legendary founder Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812-1870) with the historic purchase contract of 11 May 1853 as a tribute. This label and other examples are included in the description of Château Mouton-Rothschild.
A special feature of the German winery Balthasar Ress in the Rheingau are bottle labels designed by different artists. Catherine and Stefan Ress commissioned their first artist's label from the German painter Heinz te Laake (1925-2001) in 1978. They gave the entire bottle to the artist to design. The artists are completely free to choose the label paper, printing method and also the shape and colour of the bottle capsule. The labels are specially designed for the belly of the bottle and only top wines are awarded. Starting at the top left, Bob Bonies (1976), Otmar Alt (1983), Heinz te Lake (1976), Julio Herrera Zapata (1982), Gi Waesche (1991) and Heinrich Richter (1976).
The labels are created by the winery owner Gabriella Rallo. The name was given by Queen Maria Carolina of Habsburg-Lorraine, who fled from Naples to escape the Napoleonic army (Donnafugata = fleeing woman). The vineyard emblem is a woman's head representing the queen with waving long hair.
The artists not only design the label, but also an envelope paper in which the bottles are wrapped. The picture below shows 30 vintages or bottles from 1981 onwards, including five labels.
The "Wine of Peace" was created in 1985. On the vineyard "Vigna del Mondo" with 2.5 hectares of vineyards, around 600 grape varieties from all over the world were cultivated and from 1985 to 2012 the cuvée "Vino della Pace" was pressed. The labels were designed annually by three renowned artists. All the world's heads of state and thus also the Pope (that's about 200) were sent three bottles of peace wine every year.
Labels with animals
From the beginning of the 21st century, it became fashionable, especially for branded wines from overseas, to depict animals on labels, for which the term critters (cattle, derived from the little monsters in the film of the same name) was created. For examples of such labels, see below (special bottling for Wein & Co, Weingut Andreas Tscheppe, Südsteiermark, Austria).
Château Mouton-Rothschild labels: © tokyofoodcast @Flickr.com
