It’s an expression every dog owner knows too well. It’s the one you see when you peer over the top of a book or your laptop. Your faithful companion, determined gaze fixed, waiting for you to address their immediate needs. Now it stares at you from a wine label. Bar Dog. The wine with the puppy dog eyes.
The Bar Dog label is minimal and simple. Small, light, sans serif type, identifies grape, vintage, and origin. The name Bar Dog is set in a larger, modern, serif face. Fabulous pairing. The lines above and below the name seem superfluous. Then there’s the illustration of the dog. It is art. Not photography. The technique is called pointillism. The image is created with ink dots. There is one curious element of the illustration that is very subtle and could easily escape notice. The dog is sporting a gold monocle.
“Man’s Best Friend”. The back panel expresses what any dog owner will tell you about their “bone vivant”. Another hook. But there’s one more thing and it’s a big thing. The wine supports animal rescue shelters. The label doesn’t tell you much but their website does. They contribute quite broadly and locally where their wine is sold.
California Chardonnay has a well known flavour profile—apple, butter, vanilla, and oak. Bar Dog is typical and a decent value at a sub $20 price point. That isn’t how it competes. Its selling point is emotional connection and it does it well.
Do you respond to favourite animals on a wine label? Does social responsibility influence your purchases? Let me know in the comments below. I’m going for a walk.
