Zarpara Vineyard

A brand refresh for Zarpara Vineyard's wine labels using painterly illustrations.

A mockup of Zarpara's red wine bottle and its label design; the bottle sits on a bed of corks

A mockup of Zarpara's white wine bottle and its label design; the bottle sits on a bed of corks

A mockup of Zarpara's rosé wine bottle and its label design; the bottle sits on a bed of corks

Problem

Zarpara Vineyard was in need of a design refresh. They'd lost their previous designer and were searching for another who could evolve their brand.

Solution

I designed labels that had a touch of modernity along with some unique background illustrations that would help them stand out in a crowd.

01Red, White, and Rosé

The Primary Front Labels

Each label had to seem part of a set while also illustrating the unique qualities and flavors of the wine color they represented.

I began with the white label's illustration, whose look and feel would inform the others. I decided on an impressionistic style of loose brushstrokes and a flat value scale, which gave the label a distinct color palette without competing with the typography.

After the white label's illustration style was established, I moved on to paint the backgrounds for the red and rosé labels. For the red I chose hues evocative of a cloudy dawn, and for the rosé a stormy but pleasant pink-and-purple palette.

02Two Sides to Every Bottle

The Back Labels

Each wine variant's back label has its own color combination to match both its flavor profile and description.

03Luna de Sangre and Aurora

Dessert and Port Wine Labels

Some time after creating the red, white, and rosé wine labels, Zarpara reached out to have some additional labels designed.

These would be for their port and dessert wines: Aurora and Luna de Sangre, respectively. I stuck with the impressionistic style of the previous labels and painted a couple backgrounds I thought would capture the essence of these new variants.

For the Aurora, a sunrise bursts over a cloud-laden mountain. For the Luna de Sangre, a blood moon limns the same mountain's peak in vibrant red hues.

Zarpara's Luna de Sangre wine label design

An Illustrative Brand Refresh

Zarpara's unique labels allow their brand to shine in a crowded market.

While many label iterations were pitched, Zarpara was drawn to the more illustrative ones. They saw these labels as a path forward for their brand that wouldn't alienate their existing customer base by straying too far from where they'd come.

These labels are still used today, and Zarpara's business continues to thrive.