The Best Value Wine Label Designs

Wine labels from the Wine Access 2011 International Value Wine Awards that make a statement

For the second year in a row, the Wine Access team gathered together a group of graphic design experts during the International Value Wine Awards. Their mission? To examine every bottle and label at the competition and, then, to come up with a list of the 10 best designs. It's not as easy as it may sound; in their search for the best labels, they considered general design elements — such as typefaces and illustrations — as well as brand recognition and overall creativity.

Now, we certainly aren't suggesting that a label is more important than the wine inside a bottle. But anyone who has ever bought a bottle of wine knows that label design plays a major role in how many of us choose what we decide to take home.

In recognition of that fact, and to acknowledge the time, care and financial commitment producers invest in coming up with the ideal labels for their bottles, we present to you the top 10 winning labels, based on design.

The Wine Bottle Design Judges

Hayley Ballinger is one of the founding partners and creative director of Ball Creative, a boutique design firm specializing in retail branding and package design. She has 15 years of experience creating retail brands across Canada.

Mason Hastie is is the Assistant Art Director of Wine Access and Avenue magazine in Calgary. He also designs and art directs for a variety of clients outside of his work for RedPoint Media.

Chelsea Klukas is a creative professional who focuses on online marketing and branding. She has developed brands and designs for restaurants, bars and hospitality providers across Canada. Check out her website at chelscore.com.

Pierre A. Lamielle is the author and illustrator of Kitchen Scraps: A Humorous Illustrated Cookbook, winner of a Gourmand award for the world’s best illustrated cookbook. For an incomplete account of all his drawings, cookings and chicaneries, check out KitchenScraps.ca.