How Rebranding Can Give a Wine a New Life
The importance of a strong visual identity for the modern wine consumer
Wine has been an integral part of cultures for centuries. As such, many of the wines that we drink today come from old traditions and long lineages.
Some of these wines have been sold for hundreds of years, in unidentified wooden hulls, bottled and labeled by whoever bought them without any information regarding its origins or age.
But nowadays, choice is abundant, and you can find wines from every corner of the world in a single shop, or even online. A wine’s brand and identity are indispensable to its commercial success and recognition.
However, many wines still feature labels with an outdated aesthetic, containing little more than the information required by law, losing the opportunity to celebrate the wine’s unique origins and historical context. An outdated label can also hinder your wine from reaching new audiences, and keep your bottles from leaving the shelf.
In order to honor the wine and give it the life it deserves, it’s necessary to investing in proper branding- or in the case of the older wine houses with an antiquated image, a rebranding.
Wine Rebranding: A fresh approach to an aging brand identity
Below we’ll explore three of our wine rebranding projects in which we were able to reinvigorate the image of the brand and give the wine the new life it deserves.
Quinta do Côtto
Historically, the wine production at Quinta do Côtto was focused almost exclusively on Port wine.
However, in 1932, the vineyards and wine cellar were modernized, putting a special emphasis on the production of red and white table wines and Vintage Port from traditional castes.
This iconic wine brand, produced at the Quinta do Côtto estate on the Douro river, has inherited numerous stories throughout its years of existence. One of the main goals of this rebranding project was to preserve the geographic legacy of the brand, while enriching and modernizing it.
In the last decades, the wines of the estate (“Vinhos de Quinta”) have seen a rise in their fame and recognition in Europe due to their growing quality. This rise in popularity inspired Quinta do Côtto to rebrand their image.
One of the main goals of this rebranding project was to preserve the geographic legacy of the brand, while enriching and modernizing it. The creative processes focused on each wine individually so that each one could develop its own identity while still sharing the same DNA – their connection to the Quinta. However, a fourth label was created from scratch, as this wine had a particularly interesting story.
The particular vineyard where this wine was produced arrived into the hands of the family in 1865 as part of Rosa Carolina Pinto Barreiros dowry to marry the family’s heir, António Montez Champalimaud. Inspired by this story, the wine was called “Vinha do Dote”, which translates to “Dowry’s Vineyard.” The wine is intended to serve as an homage to Rosa Carolina, not just in name, but in the lovely and delicate illustration of this narrative on the wine’s label.
These four wines form a family, with individual and collective values – and each one of these elements tells the rich story of Quinta do Côtto.
Wine Porto Ferreira
Ferreira has been the reference point when it comes to great quality, Portuguese wine since 1751. The brand’s history is interlaced with the history of Alto Douro’s wine region, formally defined in 1756, and its famous Port wines and table wines (Douro DOC).
At 33 years old, the twice-widowed Dona Antónia become much more than the face of her inherited wine brand Porto Ferreira. She took charge of the company’s businesses, growing and strengthening them with her entrepreneurial spirit and extraordinary charisma. She gave an enormous boost to Douro’s viticulture and developed social assistance services in the area. Her wit and kindness were greatly appreciated by her contemporaries, who gave her the affectionate nickname “Ferreirinha”.
More than 250 years have gone by, and Ferreira is still an industry icon.
We were honored to accept the challenge of restructuring the image of this legendary brand, which has had such a heavy impact on our country’s culture and history.
We focused on making subtle yet significant changes to the brand’s visual identity, giving the well-known range of Porto Ferreira wines, created by “Ferreirinha” herself, a vibrant new image. This process was guided by the idea of a fresher, cleaner and more youthful typography for the label.
We developed a new logo and improved the packaging design of the entire collection, managing to establish a simultaneous connection between past, present and future. This rebranding stays truthful to its history and its origins, essential to such a valuable brand as Porto Ferreira.
Monte da Ravasqueira
The Monte da Ravasqueira property was acquired in 1943, but even before that it already had centuries of history and tradition. By the end of the 90’s, the family that owned Monte da Ravasqueira started cultivating the first vineyards, making their entrance world of viticulture.
In 2017, they wanted to reposition their brand of wines, emphasizing two wines in particular – Ravasqueira and Monte da Ravasqueira. This repositioning beckoned the need for a visual rebrand.
Our approach to this project was driven by the will to reveal these wines’ personalities, produced and bottled in Monte da Ravasqueira, a mountain in Alentejo that is rich in traditions.
We let ourselves be swept away by the bucolic beauty of its landscapes, and by the project left unfulfilled by José Manuel de Mello, who sadly passed away before accomplishing his goal: to make Monte da Ravasqueira a shining symbol in the Alentejo wine industry. This project was taken on by his twelve children, who want to pay homage to their late father with every premium wine bottle that leaves their property.
The soul of Alentejo is present in the way of life of those in Monte da Ravasqueira: the hot days, the cozy nights, and the warm, genuine hospitality.
We wanted that spirit to remain present in the visual identity of the Monte da Ravasqueira wines. The logo was inspired by the stud iron- a tool ubiquitously used as decoration on the property- and rests on a background of deep blues, with warm metallics to enhance the premium qualities of the wines. These combined elements work to present a brand that stands out by its authenticity, by the quality of its wines and the unpretentious, authentic nature of the people from Alentejo.
Is Your Wine In Need of a Rebrand?
Get in touch with Rita Rivotti’s team to discuss the possibilities.