So yesterday I decided to go out for lunch in Geelong and right opposite the cafe was a unique liquor store named Randal’s, which is located at the very end of Packington Street. What I do like about Randal’s is the fact that you can find a range of good quality wine, cinder and beer that isn’t available at the local liquor store or the supermarket. You know it’s always nice to have a change from time to time!
While I was browsing through the selection, I eventually discovered a very interesting bottle of wine. Tarot Grenache, 2009 is produced by Alpha Box & Dice in South Australia; I was very impressed with the label on the very front of the bottle. The label features a unique design and the multicoloured skulls immediately captured my attention, I picked up the bottle just to examine the detail.
The label also features a snake wrapped around a Giant Capital T that features a range of different colours, patterns and designs. In fact, the label does feature similarities to a tarot card, which does add a creative and artistic edge to the design. Ok so you’re properly thinking, what does the wine even taste like? well the first couple of sips was quite strong, overpowering, even bitter, although I’ve never really tried Grenache until this particular moment in time.
I wasn’t overly keen on the taste of the wine, which was rather surprising as I was expecting something smooth and palatable. While the label is rather inspiring and imaginative, the wine itself does take a while to get used to. I absolutely love anything related to skulls so there was no way I could have walked out of Randal’s without buying this bottle of wine. It’s not everyday you see skulls printed onto a wine bottle, this is what makes the label so extraordinary!
So the next question, you will properly ask is….would you really rely on the label or the design of the bottle to determine whether you were actually buying decent quality wine? I remember walking into a supermarket and buying a bottle of wine with four sheep jumping a fence, while the wine was absolutely dreadful, at least the Tarot Grenache wasn’t quite as bad as this experience.
I’ve always assumed that the design would indicate that the wine was high quality, I suppose this is the time where you actually read the bottle before you make the final purchase. What fascinates me about the Tarot Grenache is the reference to death and the human skull, especially in the label, I actually discovered a short statement on the bottle that captured my interest.
The label by Alpha Box & Dice states, “The card that has the face of death – fear? No! Let the changes sweep over you, like the blade cuts away dead wood to allow fresh fruit to spring forth”. This wasn’t the best wine I have ever had, although the advertising and the graphic design is very clever! It’s actually interesting to see the way the skull is used in alcohol packaging, what else can I say really? The skull still appears to be one of the most popular symbols in advertising and product design!
http://www.alphaboxdice.com.au/abnd_tarot.html
URL Links
http://www.frugalmacdoogal.com/wine_features/wine_selection.php?wine_id_selected=677
skullsproject 
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