Port labels

[Rob C.]

Looking through the photo galleries/ PORTraits, I have to confess to thinking that there was a bit more imagination that went into the production of port bottles in previous eras. By comparison, most modern-day labels strike me as being, on the whole, quite standardised.

Do you like/prefer modern port labels?

Do you think that this is all relative and that a combination of changing styles, together with a bit of dust/ fading through age, will make today's ports look similarly dated and interesting in 50/100 years time?

Or, alternatively, do you think think modern labels are perfectly functional and consider label design or anything else (such as the oft-maligned wax capsules) that turn a bottle of port into an object d'art to be irrelevant to (or even a distraction from) the port itself?

[Michael Hann]

I suppose seeing "1948 Graham Vintage Port" or "1948 Taylor Vintage Port" or "1933 Quinta do Noval Nacionale" is all most of us need to observe on the label to get excited. On the other hand, let me reply more seriously in the spirit of your question (by the way, none of my bottles have those labels on them, only in my dreams!). I like some of the superfluous graphical elements I see on some Port labels. For example, the use of maroon colored letters to spell out "Late Bottled Vintage" on Fonseca LBV 2003. For example, the cross figure on Ramos Pinto bottles. I'm not into gaudy labels. I do like some of the heraldic shields one sees on some German wine labels. I do like some of the lithograph figures one sees on some Bordeaux labels -- like the Chateau Montrose label (something like a griffin and a lion holding up a shield with some figure inside the shield). I sort of like to think these grahical figures are the results of long and unmeditated use and not something a graphical artist young enough to be my child has whipped up to drive sales a bit.

[Peter W. Meek]

In Europe generally, and in Portugal specifically, there are heraldic shields for most locales, and for many long-standing families. These are what we see on many wines, and legitimately so, if the wines come from that location or family.

I certainly don't think that a modern, made-up shield is appropriate. It insults the holders of true emblems with a history, and dilutes their significance. I feel the same way about people who wear rep fabric (diagonal stripe) neckties that either use existing school, club, honors or regimental patterns, or make up new patterns meant to simulate them. Ditto for Scottish clan and regimental Tartans. How should Americans feel, for instance, when they see someone wearing a Navy Cross or Purple Heart (real or fake) as jewelry by someone who "thinks it looks cool" but doesn't know or doesn't care about the significance?

[Eric Menchen]

As I was just contemplating the purchase of some Quinta do Noval, I was thinking, "Gosh, their labels are pretty weak." It won't stop me from buying, but I think Rob is correct on a few points. I do like the Niepoort and other labels from the 70s and 80s that show characteristic styles from those eras. Perhaps I would be more accurate to say that I don't find them attractive today, but appreciate them on those bottles.

[Rob C.]

- Pete, I certainly wasn't implying the invention of crests, but your point is a good one.

And i wouldn't necessarily advocate making the labels more complicated or intricate for the sake of it. In fact, I think there's a real charm to the blocky font and rough-around-the-edges design of many 60s and 70s labels (such as Fonseca/ Noval) - creating a sense that the bottle is from a different era. Maybe, in time, today's labels will make the same impression on my children.

However, since the crests have been brought up, I'd mention the use of them on Fonseca bottles to elaborate my point.

Fonseca seem to have (re)introduced a crest to their VP bottles at some point in the 1980s/90s. The result, in my opinion, looks good, and although very different to the heraldic crest that i have seen used on a 1948 label, I have every faith that it is of direct historical relevance (though whether the provenance is Fonseca/ Guimaraens/ regional, i am not sure) and not the type of simulation that Pete rightly criticises.

However, I would argue the latest iteration (a simplified three-part gold logo and swirls that appeared on 2003 VP label) is a blander, more homogoenised corporate-style logo that, in my mind, does not have the same aesthetic appeal. This new, reductive approach may well be good for brand recognition or any number of other reasons, but, to me personally, is a less interesting evolution of their style.

I am not suggesting that it is by any means terrible or offensive, but equally I can't see it is something that will draw the eye in 50/100yrs time when someone comes to opening and drinking a (hopefully) very fine matured port. Not that it will make a jot of difference to the port itself, of course.

[Glenn E.]

The single most important job of the label is to communicate the contents of the bottle to the observer. Anything else is unnecessary, and so should not in any way interfere with the necessary communication.

I don't like labels that are artsy - they tend to interfere. I can't tell at a glance what the bottle is unless I already know what it is, in which case I don't need the label at all.

I do appreciate a well-designed label, but the font needs to be easy to read and there needs to be sufficient white space to make everything easily visible. Some color is good, and decorative borders (even pictures) are fine. Crests are great - to me they add a sense of history and dignity to the bottle.

Bottles of Port, unlike bottles of dry wine, aren't used (as often) as a display piece because the good stuff is decanted before serving. The decanter becomes the display piece and the bottle becomes a trophy to store above your cupboards or in your study.

[Michael Hann]

I have a further thought on this. I think the label can do both things -- provide the necessary information for the wine afficianado to determine specifically what they are about to buy (wine from a specific vintage or non-vintage, ordinary or "reserve" quality Port, late bottled vintage of vintage X and bottled in year X+y, unfiltered or no mention of filtering[and hence probably filtered]) and provide some cachet, some elegance, some panache. I used to like to drink Jaboulet-Vercherre's Pommard Clos de la Commaraine red burgundy (still like it, just rarely see it-- a premier cru monopole). The Jaboulet-Vercherre label contained a figure of a stylized lion's head in profile with a tongue surmounted by a triangular spear point protruding from the mouth. There was a banner or scroll that wrapped around the bottom of the stylized lion's head with some latin moto -- "IN TENEBRIS LUMEN RECTIS" or some such. The bottle was also tricked out with one of those thin wire mesh nets that is sometimes seen with wine bottles. I acknowledge that the stylized lion's head, the latin motto, and the wire mesh net had NOTHING to do with the wine in the bottle, but notwithstanding I really liked those things, I thought they were cool and made the wine bottle look neat. They were evocative.

[Eric Menchen]

So what about the little cards on a string around the neck? Good information or annoying?

[Peter W. Meek]

So what about the little cards on a string around the neck? Good information or annoying?

They CAN have good information, but they aren't much good on a bottle that expects to be stored for decades -- they get lost.

[Peter W. Meek]

Michael has a good point. Labels do two main things: they "brand" the wine, giving it a recognizable appearance on the shelf, in the store, on the table; they also (should) inform the selector what is in the bottle, even if he has never seen this wine before. (A third thing -- our governments insist upon it -- is provide evidence that our government is concerned about us enough to uglify our bottles and throw obstacles in the way of our wineries.)

[Al B.]

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a curmugeon when it comes to port labels. I like my labels simple and unadorned. For example, I dislike (in the extreme) the current overy fancy Vargellas label.

I really like the old 1960s-1970s Fonseca white block font on black background. I like the current simple Vesuvio. I like to current (and old) Noval block font black on white background.

As far as I am concerned, the simpler the label the more I like it.

[Eric Ifune]

I know it won't come back due to expense; but I was always partial to the glass embossed lozenge on Vintage Port bottles. Warres had "WARRES" embossed on theirs.

[Moses Botbol]

I like screened or painted labels along with crested bottles.

[Derek T.]

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a curmugeon when it comes to port labels. I like my labels simple and unadorned. For example, I dislike (in the extreme) the current overy fancy Vargellas label.

I really like the old 1960s-1970s Fonseca white block font on black background. I like the current simple Vesuvio. I like to current (and old) Noval block font black on white background.

As far as I am concerned, the simpler the label the more I like it.

What he said

[Al B.]

I know it won't come back due to expense; but I was always partial to the glass embossed lozenge on Vintage Port bottles. Warres had "WARRES" embossed on theirs.

I'd forgotten about the crested bottles. Those were great. You could have an old bottle that had been well cellared so that the label had long rotted away but still know without any doubt what was in the bottle you were holding. It might be expensive to have bottles like those made to order, but what great packaging for a premium product that used to be.

[Andy Velebil]

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a curmugeon when it comes to port labels. I like my labels simple and unadorned. For example, I dislike (in the extreme) the current overy fancy Vargellas label.

I really like the old 1960s-1970s Fonseca white block font on black background. I like the current simple Vesuvio. I like to current (and old) Noval block font black on white background.

As far as I am concerned, the simpler the label the more I like it.

I know it won't come back due to expense; but I was always partial to the glass embossed lozenge on Vintage Port bottles. Warres had "WARRES" embossed on theirs.

Totally agree with both of you on these points, keep it simple. Also brand the bottle and capsule (with year and producer) in case the label comes off years down the road.

My pet peeve is the older Fonseca / Guimaraens labels that are confusing as all get out. If you didn't know declared vintages really well, it's a crap shoot for a consumer to try and figure out if they're buying a "declared year" Fonseca or a "non-declared year" Fonseca Guimaraens.

[Daniel R.]

I do not know if it is easy to find outside Portugal, but the book "Rótulos e Cartazes no Vinho do Porto" by François Guichard (Edições Inapa), contains a fantastic amount of labels (great pictures) with loads of analysis and context. Well worth seeking out.