Personal stories

Product branding for Golding’s premium, single vineyard varietals.

Golding Wines prides itself on being a family-oriented brand. The conceptual approach for this premium range of labels centres around telling the story of the Golding family history, and much loved members of the family. Each product profiles a different family member and every one with a captivating story to tell.

The first two wines in the series – the Francis John Pinot Noir and Rocco Shiraz feature energetic pen sketches commissioned from South Australian artist Fleur Elise Noble. The drawing style was deliberately chosen as a conceptual link to the abstract works for the label graphics in the Single Vineyard Series which incorporate the geographic contours of each vineyard. The drawings for the Francis John and Rocco labels extends this contour concept whereby the linework reflects the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the person.

For the release of the 2009 Marjorie Sparkling, in a conscious shift away from the previous labels in the range and in reverence for the celebratory nature of the Sparkling varietal, an ‘abstract’ portrait was developed which details the story of Grandmother Marjorie’s wedding.

Marjorie was a military nurse and an Australian war bride in a wedding that was rushed to accommodate the departure of her pilot beau back to the front line at the height of WW2. Through a collection of seemingly disparate elements and icons we aimed to create a richly detailed portrait of Marjorie, her life and her time. In line with the service theme the illustration is styled in the vein of a tattoo reflecting her story but also serves to provide clear market distinction. The branding references conventional visual cues to the major commercial sparkling branding but creates its own strongly individual position. This design has stood the test of time, with only a few minor developments made in the evolution of the label from the first release, to the most recent 2016 vintage.

The newest wine in the range – the Rosie May Chardonnay – is named after the Golding’s first-born daughter, Rosie May Golding. The illustrated portrait commissioned by South Australian artist Clare Wee is a representation of Rosie May, capturing her love of nature and distinct red flowing curls. The drawing style, combining traditional mediums of pencils and ink, depicts the soft, delicate characteristics of both the wine and its namesake.