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48 W i n e s & V i n e s O C T O b e r 2 0 1 4 an easy choice as screening can run as much as 50% more expensive than paper labels, plus they needed to buy and store decorated glass rather than labels. They also wanted a look of richness that suggested a rich, smooth red blend with 24-carat gold highlighting and a 360-degree design that wraps around the bottle. one goal was to create buzz, and the package did win design awards. In keep- ing with the name, there are hidden mes- sages on both the front and back that need to be deciphered. The design brief started with a screen- print in mind. Purple Wine Co. worked very closely with Bergin, a designer expe- rienced with three-dimensional screen- printing as opposed to 2-D paper labels. Screen-printing requires more planning, is more time-sensitive and less flexible than paper labels. It's necessary to factor in at least three months of additional lead-time to allow bottles to be printed before the bottling date. However, no extra time is needed to design or gain TTB approval. Bottle decorators have in-house design- ers who are experts in translating paper to screen-printing or making an original design come to life. It's best to consult with and solicit bids from several differ- ent vendors. "Working closely with a glass supplier and bottle decorator is the key to making silkscreen work," ehrlich said. This includes setting schedules with the glass vendor (encore in this case). It's also important to coordinate with the shipper manufacturer in advance, so think about the design and color of the shipper, which requires nailing down the rest of the packaging. obviously, the winery needs to coordinate delivery with bottle decorators and beware of periods of high demand when bottle decorators need more lead-time. "Don't wait until last minute!" ehrlich warned. one advantage of silkscreened bottles is that they run faster and more efficiently on the bottling line, but they're less flex- ible. "With paper labels, if you decide to bottle less or more wine, you have some options." It's relatively inexpensive to toss paper labels and print more, but not dec- orated glass if it's vintage-dated. You also have to be careful of alcohol levels changing from under to over 14% as well as vintage changes. Purple Wine Co. sampled colors in advance. Finding the right red was key because they wanted a signature "blood orange" for the brand, and reds can be notoriously difficult. The selection of gold ink and metallic gold was hands-on, and ehrlich recom- mended that wineries build time for sam- pling into the process. "The screened label and gold took extra time, effort and cost, but we decided it was worth it for Cryptic," ehrlich concluded. Avalon C A B With Avalon C A B, Purple Wine Co. faced similar logistics issues to Cryptic but encountered a unique set of problems due to the scale of the program. It was a packaging redesign, not a new item, but they wanted to add value, repositioning Avalon California Cabernet from the $8-$10 range to the $10-$12 segment. "We needed stronger branding. The pack- aging was undifferentiated and did not stand out on the shelf. We were looking for a way to set the wine apart." The effort was risky as this wine was Pur- ple's best-selling product, and they worked on the strategy for more than a year. Like Cryptic, the intention from the start was to use screen-printing. SCREW Making the move to screw cap? Want to run roll-on and torque-on with the same machine? Arol's flexible capping technology applies everything from corks, to torque-on aluminum closures. With over thirty years' experience and 15,000 machines to-date, we have a perfect solution for your application. We custom design your machine for your specific application. Contact us at: AROL North America 450 Satellite Blvd NE | Suite A Suwanee, GA 30024 | Tel: 678.318.1290 www.arol.com WV201111_arol_island.indd 1 11/4/2011 9:05:39 AM p a c k a g i n g