Paul Tincknell
Coordinating Judge, Packaging Design Contest
VARA Viña Cardinal Rosé, New Mexico
Sweepstakes Winner, Packaging Design Contest
January 10, 2020, Cloverdale, CA – VARA Winery’s (www.varawines.com) Viña Cardinal Rosé from New Mexico was the Sweepstakes Winner in the Packaging Design Contest at the 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, receiving a Double Gold and Best of Class in the Artistic Illustrative category. The judges selected it for the simplicity and beauty of the label artwork, execution of the packaging (which included a branded, printed gift tube and wine notes), and the distinctive bottle with white wax dip closure. The packaging displayed a holistic approach to branding that conveyed sophistication and excellence.
The label features a spot gloss varnish over the primary graphic of the old vine, making the colors and detail stand out. The winery name is a blind emboss that doesn’t compete visually with the picture of the vine. The high-shoulder, squat 750-mL bottle in antique green harkens back to the legacy of New Mexico, and its 400-year-old history as first in the U.S. to grow grapes and make wine.
VARA makes Spanish and American wines celebrating the origins of the American wine experience and the historical connection of Spain and New Mexico. Viña Cardinal is a tribute to the “cardinal vine,” the Mission grape. Made entirely from New Mexico-grown, heirloom Listán Prieto (aka Mission), harvested from the Mission Hill vineyard in Mesquite, the wine was pressed and fermented off skins. Fermentation was stopped by fortifying with brandy to 17% alcohol by volume. The result is a pale pink, slightly off-dry, light, fortified, aperitif wine. 335 cases were produced.
The packaging design was a collaboration between founders Doug Diefenthaler and Xavier Zamarripa, and graphic artist Rudi Backart (www.rudibackart.com). Diefenthaler and Zamarripa founded VARA in 2014. Diefenthaler is a 30-year veteran in the wine industry and New Mexico, having previously founded the New Mexico Wine Patrol and Whole World Wines. A transplanted Texan with Basque family roots, Zamarripa, artist and entrepreneur, studied the art of mosaics in Italy, where he fell in love with wine. Backart received her MFA in painting at Western Michigan University and studied painting and sculpture in Positano, Italy. She lives, works, and paints in Corrales, New Mexico.
| Winery | Vintage | AVA | Vineyard/Other | Varietal | Price | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VARA: Packaging Sweepstake Winner | NV | New Mexico | Fortified Wine | Vina Cardinal | 32.00 | Sweepstake Winner |
| Polynesian Girl | 2017 | Sierra Foothills | Malbec | 29.99 | Silver | |
| Compton Family Wines | 2017 | Willamette Valley | Garden Series | Compton Family Wine Pinot Noir | 22.00 | Bronze |
| Fringe Collective | 2017 | Sonoma Coast | Seafall | Chardonnay | 50.00 | Bronze |
| Fringe Collective | 2017 | Santa Maria Valley | Rockbound Pinot Noir | 65.00 | Bronze |