Packaging - Visit to K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco

 This picture has nothing to do with K&L Wine Merchants but I saw it on my trip to SF.  I'm impressed the house is still standing.

Ok.  On to K&L Wine Merchants in downtown San Francisco:

 I've been thinking a lot about packaging since TK and I had to make several decisions about how to package our wine.  That's why I was really entertained by this German wine.

 Label design is such an arduous task, these guys just decided to skip it.  Those clever and efficient Germans!

 I really like the "naked" cork trend.  No foil capsule.  I like that you can see the cork, it's less waste (unnecessary decoration that gets tossed) and cheaper!

A foil can help a bottle looked 'finished', but as more people get on the naked cork trend, I think it will be phased out.  Or at least I hope it is.

I love wax, but it's expensive and a huge time investment.  I like how the wax shows the cork underneath.  It's a great way to reflect the uniqueness and individuality of each bottle, a nod to the handcrafted quality of making artisan wines.  But mostly, it's a pain in the ass. 

Or you can do extreme waxing, like Belle Glos.  It's wasteful, but I like the look.  Although, I can't look at a bottle like this anymore and not think about how much of the bottle price is going towards paying for packaging.  I want to pay for the wine, not the glass or labels.

I have seen naked corks for white wines and rose wines, but not yet for red wine.  This was great to see.  I hope people will interpret the move as eco-friendly and innovative, instead of thinking it's just a cheap or unfinished bottle.

Another naked cork!  But I do prefer a good screw cap to cork anyday.  Unfortunately screw caps require special glass and a bottling line, so for this year my wine will have to be regular cork.  That's one advantage of cork to screw cap I guess, easier use for home winemakers.

I had to take a picture of this.  It's my favorite "worst" label I've seen.  Awesomely terrible.

Next up, labeling the 2012 Wine!  You'll be able to see our design choices, and how they are informed by price.

-L