Some of the Funniest Wine Labels You Will Ever See

It seems like there could be thousands of case studies and research reports generated by the use of labeling in the wine industry. Whenever you walk into a wine shop, it’s not uncommon to see hundreds of eye-catching designs and phrases designed to draw prospective customers in to a world they may know very little about.
It is perhaps this “gap” between the actual knowledge of the consumer and the expert experiences and insight of the wine maker that leads to the creation of labels that are both brilliant and, at other moments, ridiculously funny.

In some situations, funny labels can be a surprisingly effective sales too. For too long, the world of wine has been viewed as the exclusive domain of the affluent and well-to-do who desire “refined” enjoyment. That being said, the recent surge in popularity of “New World” wines in areas such as California and Washington State have turned the traditional wine sensibility on its head. A younger, hipper crowd is now embracing wine culture and is willing to purchase the products they believe coincide with their own preferences and flavour palate.

Text is a powerful tool that many wine manufacturers have used to their advantage. Producing an absolutely hilarious one-liner is a great way to convince would-be customers to purchase a not-so-expensive bottle of wine to share with their friends, if only because the comedic phrase printed on the bottle will serve as an excellent conversation starter.

The same mentality also applies to images. If a wine’s label includes a stand-out, guffaw inducing picture or scene, you can rest assured that the bottle will be purchased by a significant number of customers who are basing their purchasing decisions solely on the reaction they get from the label.

While this strategy obviously doesn’t apply to all wine products, particularly those that are priced out of range for casual buyers, a growing number of wineries have begun to invest significant thought and effort into crafting the perfect label so as to produce a memorable branding platform that stays with customers long after the flavours of the wine have subsided.