Simonsig Estate’s flagship wine, The Garland Cabernet Sauvignon, garnered one of only two gold awards presented at the recent Wine Label Design Awards, sponsored by Rotolabel.

The competition seeks to reward the best design and packaging for bottled wine made in South Africa and judging criteria include originality of concept, execution, shelf appeal and effectiveness as a piece of communication. A total of 50 entries were received from wines across all levels of price and category.

Jacques Jordaan, marketing manager for Simonsig Estate, says the gold award for design was apt recognition for the conceptualisation of The Garland’s packaging which had been designed by Anthony Lane in conjunction with Simonsig Cellarmaster Johan Malan.

“From the outset we knew that packaging was going to be key in the success of The Garland,” says Jordaan. “To successfully introduce a wine priced at over R1 100 in the market we were aware of the fact that image and perception of the bottle was almost as important as the quality of what is inside. The Wine Label Design Gold Award justifies the months of hard and focused work by Anthony and Johan in presenting a finished product encapsulating the values of Simonsig’s flagship wine.”

The Garland 2008, which was released last year, is Simonsig’s first super premium wine and is made from a single vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes situated against the slopes of Stellenbosch’s Simonsberg mountain. The label shows a beam of light highlighting a vineyard on the Simonsberg as viewed from Simonsig Estate whose name is drawn from the view of these mountains.

Jordaan says the label depicts exactly what the wine wishes to communicate. “The Garland is the ultimate expression of unique terroir and the winemaking style of Simonsig, and it is a product we are immensely proud of,” he says. “As the name suggests, this wine is a crown that Simonsig wears to display and to honour a remarkable achievement.”