By : Anna

The London Wine Competition, held in March 2018, has been in limelight since the huge success in its inaugural year. The Competition announced its winners in April 2018. Like the other competitions, London Wine Competition awarded all the winners with Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. Apart from these, the competition also announced special awards for the best wines in various categories. The Best Wine in Show by Package was one of them.

Packaging is one of the most important factors when it comes to choosing the best wine. While selecting wine from the wine shops, customers usually check the wine from their eyes first. If the look appeals to customers, only then they will go further to check other things. So, a well-designed, meaningful and appealing package is essential for any wine bottle to catch the eyes of customers. This is a general tendency of consumers and is very well implemented by the London Wine Competition.

Take a glance of such wines from the competition, the wines with a nice and meaningful package, designed for a specific group of consumers.

The Arcadian 2017 Shiraz from Idyll Wine Co, entitled as ‘The Best Wine of the Year’, scored highest for its package design among other wines. This Shiraz is made in Geelong by winemaker Toby Wanklyn. The grapes used in this Shiraz are sourced from the Murray Darling region from Northern Victoria. It is a medium-bodied Shiraz with a black cherry and plum bouquet and a blend of American and French Oak which reflects in the colours chosen in bottle’s design. The judges were impressed by every aspect of this Shiraz, which sells for just $10.

Blanc de Blanc 2011 from Hoffmann and Rathbone is also one of the wines with a nice packaging. This Blanc de Blanc is carefully created from best Chardonnay based wines. It shows a beautiful incandescent pale golden colour and persistent release of bubbles. At the first nose, there are fresh fruit notes with ripe citrus fruits. The second nose has wonderful notes of white flowers and peach. The palate is full of freshness. – Winemaker, Ulrich Hoffmann.

The Hidden Sea Shiraz has a story to tell. Many years ago, the Limestone Coast of South Australia was covered by the Southern Ocean. After the series of ice ages, the ocean diminished leaving the area rich with ancient fossilised Limestone, which made the region a world heritage site. This soil, today, provides natural and perfect filtration system suitable for growing grapes for this world famous wine region. The story is beautifully picturized on the package of this Shiraz.

Old Vine Shiraz from Cape Barren Wines is produced in one of the finest regions in the world for grape growing. The vines of McLaren Vale region are older than 45 years. The Old Vine Shiraz has a bright appealing colour with youthful purple tints. It is a well-balanced and elegant wine with juicy fruit flavours star anise spiciness. There is a perfect balance of tannins and French Oak which provides wonderfully appealing wine of great style.

The RedHeads Whip-Hand tells an exciting story of a boy who lost the job, the house and everything else. He kept searching over the rolling hills, with heat, searing thirst, which led to the glorious vine.  The Whip-Hand is handcrafted by the winemaker Dan Graham. This wine is silky, evolved, with raspberry notes and hints of woods, leather and blackcurrant pastilles. Whip-Hand makes a delicious glass with its mellow, well-integrated fruit and oak.

Blanc de Blancs Twenty Thirteen is the truest expression of the terroir of Gusbourne. This wine is made from hand-selected Chardonnay. The wine is aged for around thirty-six months on lees and three months on a cork.

There are some more wines which scored well, such as Pulpoloco Sangria CartoCan from Bodegas Spanish Story, Roggio Del Filare from Velenosi Vini, Schwarz, and Section One Shiraz from Blue Pyrenees Estate which proved that not just the taste or price of the wine, but its look and feel are also as important for a wine to successfully travel from a bar’s shelf to a customer’s bag.