Is this a label or a vintage wine ad? It shouts like an ad. Skin Contact White! Orange Wine!Estate Grown! White Grapes! Pomelado sure has a lot to explain. Granted, orange wine is a relatively unknown category. There’s a lot of confusion about how it’s made.
True story. My wife and her sister were at a restaurant with an orange wine on their list. Her sister inquired about it and was told by the waiter it was made from oranges. That’s probably easier to imagine than creating orange wine from white grapes.
Pomelado is made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The wine receives skin contact for 10-14 days. It is the contact with the grape skins that create the orange colour and in this case, tropical flavours.
Many orange wines are sold in clear bottles. It makes it obvious that the wine is truly orange. For a package that works so hard to make its point, it’s surprising that Pomelado is bottled in amber glass. It’s also surprising that there are no notes to describe the grapes or the process on the back label.
Putting aside the challenges, the Pomelado label is a great expression of vintage wine design. It is reminiscent of the posters you see in many cafes and bars. The colours, graphics, and type are spot-on vintage. A wine glass on the label is usually redundant but here it works with both the aesthetic and message strategy.
I haven’t tasted many orange wines but I did enjoy this one. Oddly enough, perhaps because of the persistent messaging, the tropical flavour I experienced was…orange!
As much as I like the retro vibe of this label I likely would not have purchased it other than to share it here. Have you tasted orange wine? Would you buy this one? Let me know in the comments below.
Want to more about orange wine? Check out this post from Wine Enthusiast.
