THE EVOLUTION OF WINE LABELS IN AUSTRALIA

We look at wine label trends from across the years, and wonder what’s on the horizon.

1960s

With the Australian table wine culture still in its fledgling stages, the labelling style was very much led by the Old World. Big typography and lots of information were common on labels.

1970s

The ‘critter’ label emerged onto the scene, with native animals such as wombats, kangaroos and koalas popular markers on local wines.

1980s

As with trends in music and fashion, they are often cyclical. With wine labels, it has been moving between clean white and colourful designs since around the ’80s. When the whole shelf turns to white, colour stands out and vice versa.

1990s

Semiotics came into play, albeit in a simple way, with the trend to ‘strip labels’. The idea was a two- or threepart design, including colour coding to convey varietal characteristics.

2000s

Retro-type labels, taking the quirks of some of those earlier styles and reinterpreting them for a contemporary audience, became fashionable. This trend continues today, but it’s more popular in the US and UK.

now

One of the exciting aspects of the Australian wine industry right now is that brands are using visuals in sophisticated, highly individual ways – and drinkers are responding.