The concept is based around the old myth of the vampire and the person who gave birth to Bram Stokers novel about Count Dracula, Vlad III.
He was a ruler of the kingdom of Wallachia, today a part of Romania, and he became famous for his joy of executing perpetrators through impalement. This gave birth to the nickname, Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Tepes. My concept is based around the real person and the myth around him and not Bram Stoker’s version, however I brought in elements of the Vampire myth along with parts of the rich Romanian wine culture and history.
CATEGORY
Beverage Packaging
DURATION
7 weeks
CLIENT
Vallachia Vineyard (fictional)
KEY WORDS
Premium
Alluring
Elegant
A Legacy Written in Blood
The style of the logo derived from a want for simplicity, storytelling and a strong connection to the heritage. Incorporating the cross, the V and the T, and lastly the drop of wine or blood at the bottom and the backdrop of gold was all parts of guiding the viewer to these key aspects of what I wanted to convey. Used together with en emboss of Vlad III’s actual ring sigil, a paper with a stronger structure and a soft backdrop of embroidery makes the bottle not only look the part but also feel it when handled. I wanted to create the feeling of bringing something with you from a story when taking a bottle of this vintage from the shelf, hopefully from your dusty wine cellar.
According to legend, the original owners of the lands where the grapes for the red wine grows were found to be traitors to the crown and Vlad had the entire family, husband, wife, children and even servants of the household executed through impalement, on top of the very soil. The lands were given a new family, more loyal to the cause of Vlad. The new owners were ordered to erupt an even greater vineyard and it is said that even today the reason for the especially deep red of their Cabernet Sauvignon derives from the blood that seeped into the soil from the former owners.
In the creation of their premium bottle, their most iconic bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I chose to remove the label and instead give the bottle an even more classic and iconic look. I chose to use a satin ribbon along with a dripping wax top with the sigil imprinted on top to give the user a feeling of breaking the sigil whenever the bottle was chosen to be opened. I also added a wax sigil in blood red on the front of the bottle, as a symbol of the winemakers loyalty to their king.
