My Latest in Wines & Vines Magazine: “What’s Popping in Sparkling Wine Packaging”

By L.m. Archer @lmarcherml

What’s Popping in Sparkling Wine Packaging

As more wineries add a sparkler to their portfolios, they also aim to have that bottling stand out

by L.M. Archer

According to a 2017 Nielsen study, 71% of consumers don’t know what they want when they walk into a store looking to buy some wine. Nielsen concluded packaging is of vital importance to persuade consumers to buy a particular brand.

And as sparkling wine continues to grow in popularity in the United States, those same consumers are now more likely to be looking for a bottle of bubbles. Innovative and attractive packaging could help convince them to pick your brand off the shelf.

For Maria Stuart of R. Stuart & Co. in McMinnville, Ore., the ultimate goal of any wine label is to create a personal connection between the customer and the wine. “When a wine speaks to a person, you’ve got a customer for life,” Stuart said. Stuart worked with designer Andrea La Rue at Nectar Graphics in McMinnville to create the Bubbly and Rosé d’Or sparkling wine labels.

La Rue isn’t the only designer delighting sparkling wine makers. Carrie Higgins of CRUSH Creative Packaging, the wine label division of Taylor Made Labels in Lake Oswego, Ore., is a 25-year wine industry packaging veteran. Higgins’ tagline is, “There’s drama in a package,” and she said most clients venturing into sparkling wine ask the same questions: “How do I take my existing brand and create something lovely that’s different? How do I make it stand out from my still wines?”

Higgins consults with clients on a whole host of technical aspects specific to sparkling wine, such as paper stock, embellishments and what she calls the “sparkle factor” – which makes a wine stand out on the shelves. Read more here.

Posted in WineTagged Sparkling wine sparkling wine packaging