We went through a lot of iterations when deciding what we wanted our OG label to look like. We wanted it to capture the sense of place from which the wines are born – coastal, high elevation and cool climate. We wanted it have a vintage feel to bring us back to the 1940’s, a time when the namesakes of our label, my grandmothers, were young and starting their life adventures. We wanted it to have ties to our family and contain elements that rang authentic to the story. And, we wanted to wrap all of this up in to a modern package that stood out as something different on the shelf but still felt luxurious. Luckily our Brand Manager Joelle Ternus, who is also my sister, was up to the task.
The OG Label and Logo
Our main calling card has become our trademarked logo, OG Oxlee Graham, over the hills that are being kissed by the ocean. We chose a cursive font for our lettering to give it that feminine, elegant and vintage feel. The hills and ocean are meant to depict the terroir and climate from which we choose to source our grapes. The actual hills and ocean were drawn by Joelle from the view out my grandparents’ picture window in their living room. Their house was built by my grandpa in the late 1940’s in the picturesque Berkeley Hills. The label depicts the view towards Marin County, just to the North of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, with the San Francisco Bay grazing the coastline.  This house in the Berkeley Hills was one of my happiest places, so it means a lot that I get to carry a small bit of it with me in to this project.
The texture of these labels was also super important. We chose a linen paper stock to again give those vintage vibes, but also just to provide a unique wine label experience. We also think the linen paper helps to bring the brush strokes of the hills and ocean to life.
What we refer to as the name plates...
The bottom portion of the front label is where we are able to bring in some more modern elements that help keep the label youthful. We also are naming each wine after a woman that has inspired me. This label is where we can honor them by including their name in gold foil. Each wine is matched to the honoree for a specific reason – their personalities or stories align with the wine. Yes, the wines also have personalities.
That back label, though...
The back label continues to tell the story of the cool climates where our grapes are grown. The gold foil lines that flow through the back label represent the fog and coastal influences we value. We also added a QR code that will bring you to the website where you can read the short stories about the women honored on the front label. Nestled into the QR code is a graphic of Oxley, my little Scottish Terrier, who was named after my Granny but who is not the namesake for this brand. The Scottie graphic honors my love for my dog but also offers that vintage throwback to the 1940’s when Scotties were all the rage. How fun is that?!
We think details matter, and that thought has to be put into every element of these wines – that includes every part of the package. We hope you enjoy looking at this label now that you know the whole story.
Cheers,
Jennie