The Sexiest Wine In Your Cellar

Who’s looking at who?  Does it matter once you’ve met her gaze?  Take her home and you will find that this devine blonde showcases the citrus and peach notes that make chardonnay so popular.

The Bottled Blonde has a new look and a new attitude.  Produced and bottled by Veritas Ridge (Healdsburg, CA), this Sonoma County Chardonnay is flying off the shelves at a rapid pace.  Owner Deo Rampertab is enthusiastic about this venture, and in particular this Chardonnay.  New Vintage had the pleasure of printing these wine labels, and we’re thrilled to be in such good company.  Meet Deo here:

http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/people/entrepreneurs/bottled-blonde-wine

Personal Wine Labels

You come to our website and you can see that we’re heavy into the wine industry.  It’s no surprise that we love our wine, but we love the wine labels we provide for our clients too.  There are simple ones, elegant ones, crazy ones, convoluted ones (these are the labels that have all the bells and whistles – foil, emboss, consecutive numbering, spot glosses, special die cuts, etc. etc. etc.).  Then there are the ones that we make for ourselves.

Being involved in the wine industry has introduced us to some pretty spectacular wines.  So much so that we’ve purchased several barrels of “private label” for ourselves over the years.  There are usually five parties involved (we each get 5 cases), so don’t think we’re saddled down with 25 cases of wine at once (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  Since our latest has just been bottled, I thought I’d show the evolution of our label (the Derum label) over the years.

Let’s start with the 2003 Armida Poizin.  The image on the label is from a piece of artwork my parents have in their house done by a local artist.  We sort of jumped into the game on this one towards the time the labels needed to be printed.  New Vintage also didn’t exist at this point – we just had a friendship with the owner up at Armida Winery and we didn’t have a whole lot of say in the design, so we just rolled with what everyone else was doing.  This particular label design has become my parents chosen brand and has stayed consistent over the course of the past several barrels we’ve purchased.  Chris and I on the other hand decided to change it up from year to year.

The next one was the 2006 Armida Poizin – this is the label that we simply call the CK Zin.  I think the label sort of tells you why.  It’s simple and it’s our initials (Chris & Kim – I know, creative right?) and we changed the color up to pay homage to our beloved San Francisco Giants.  The back of the label may or may not have had an SF giants – like logo on it

Then the 2008 vintage was ready (now keep in mind how vintages work – the vintage is the year the grapes were harvested, NOT the year that we bottled the wine).  So, this wine was bottled in early 2010.  We decided to go full out and dedicate our wine label to the greatest Giant (and arguably the greatest player to ever play baseball) – Willie Mays.  We chose the iconic image of his famous catch (the photo is simply called “the catch”).  I left the back of the label here too so that you can read the story if you’re not a baseball fan and have no idea why this catch was so important.  Anyway. . . I’m not saying that we had anything to do with it (wink wink) but the Giants went on to win the World Series in 2010 – for the first time in 52 years.

That brings us to this year – changed the wine up and went with a Pinot.  We kept with the orange, but wanted something elegant and simple.  That’s the one you see above. . with my signature on it, branded for eternity. . . or something like that.

Which is your favorite?

What Do You Need?

I saw a license plate cover today and it made me wonder – why would someone buy that?  It said “All I Need Is a Pepsi, and a Sandy Beach”.

AHH, My Life Is Complete

Really? I’ll give the sandy beach some cred, but a Pepsi?  That’s ALL you need?  I suppose I should credit them with being easy to please, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. There are lots of things I need. . . a Pepsi not being one of them (I’m more of a Coke  girl).

So then I got to thinking – what would make someone buy that?  What is it about that particular license plate cover that made that person say “YES YES YES. . that IS all I need! And I think I need to let everyone know. . .especially that stranger driving behind me.  I’m totally getting that!”

I saw that thing this morning.  I’m still thinking about it.  I’m in the print and promotional business and I wonder all the time – with all the promo products out there, why are there so many that I think are AWESOME, yet no one else seems to give a second look?  Is this license plate cover that awesome thing for someone else?  Why does everyone always ask me for pens?  What’s so great about a pen?  Why not something cool like the hot new stainless steel water bottle I saw last week?  How about something that complements your business?  A water bottle for a massage therapist, for example, makes perfect sense to me, since we’re always told to drink a bunch of water after our appointment.  Conversely, a magnet for a web designer does not. How often are you in front of your refrigerator thinking about web design? A web designer would do much better with something computer related.  Does anyone even consider WHY they need or want a promo product?  Do they have a plan for it?  Is there a purpose or a specific goal? Can I get them to think about that without just running away crying that they “just wanted some pens to give away”?  Why are they wasting their money on something that will have no return on their investment, only to turn around three months later and proclaim that promo products don’t work?  Have they even considered something else? Does the average person even know that almost everything they touch is a promo item?  There are hundreds of thousands of them out there. If it has a logo on it. . . . well, you get the idea.

Most of all though, I wonder how I can get out into the world the importance of promotional products for small and large businesses alike.  They aren’t Tchotchkes – man I hate that word. . they aren’t gewgaws, knickknacks, swag (OK, I like this one – so I’m recanting this one only!), baubles, thingamajigs, doodads, or trinkets.  Those are all cheap, disposable, tacky. . . while a well chosen, well designed, well decorated promotional product could potentially bring in much more business than cold calling. . . .Anyone care to weigh in on this?

Oh, and we can provide license plate covers too, so if anyone out there wants one proclaiming all they need, you let me know.

For Your Consideration. . .

If you like wine, check out the two newest tasting rooms in Sonoma County.

Garagiste – what’s that mean?  A garagiste refers to a winemaker who makes small batches of wine in his (or her – we don’t discriminate) garage.  This tasting room is a joint venture between Stark Wines and one of our clients Cartograph.  Plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy their small-lot wines in a great, comfortable setting.  If you’re up in Northern Sonoma County, go check them out.  If you’re not. . make the trip anyway!  Garagiste Healdsburg. 439 Healdsburg Ave. 431-8023. Open: Thurs-Mon 11-6 p.m., and Tues-Wed by appointment. Twitter: @cartographwines

Vinoteca - This one is a collective tasting lounge offering limited production wines.  Includes Baker Lane, Bjornstad Cellars, Calluna Vineyards, Frostwatch Vineyards & Winery, Olson Ogden Wines and Super Sonoman Wines.  Open: 11am to 5pm on Friday- Sunday and Monday – Thursday by appt!  taste@vinotecataste.com 707-542-3292.  Twitter: @VinotecaTaste

Both are on Twitter (handles above) and have Facebook Pages too, so check them out!

kd

5 Years of Wine

That’s a little misleading.  We’ve been drinking wine for WAY more than five years, but what I mean to say is – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!  On May 15th, New Vintage Print officially hit the 5 year mark in our little adventure we call work.  As you know, and can tell from our website, we’re heavily involved in the wine industry, constantly looking for ways to improve the look, the feel, the function of wine labels for wineries in the Russian River, Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, as well as Sonoma Coast, American Canyon – well, you get the idea right?

So, what better way to celebrate 5 years of successful business?  Well, a winery event of course.  Our friends at Wilson Winery put on this event every year for the Children of the Vineyard Workers.  It’s a scholarship fund for them to go to school . . .a little background:

 

In 2002 the Wilson family and Wilson Winery established the “Children of Vineyard Workers Scholarship Fund.” Our ambitious goal is to raise enough money to meet the demands of all deserving applicants and to build the endowment fund for a legacy of ongoing success. We believe that the children of those who work the vineyards of Sonoma County should not be limited in their pursuit of educational opportunities by financial constraints.  The Wilson Family will match all funds up to $100,000.  100% of your dollars go directly to the scholarship fund.

So, it’s a good cause and we wanted to help support that cause.  So this last Saturday night the four of us (my husband Chris, and my parents, Carl & Joanie) headed out to Soda Rock Winery for a silent (and also a live) auction that included good appetizers, dinner and the best part of all. . self pour wines.  Talk about trust!  OH, and they had a miniature pony there to bid on.  He was awfully cute, but . . probably wouldn’t fly.  Anyway, we had a good time, and we bid on (and won) a few things.  We figured since we were celebrating 5 years of business, we should buy ourselves something right?

How about a wine fridge and 52 bottles of wine to fill it?  Yes please.

Happy Birthday to us.

5 Promo Products Everyone Should Love

We get a lot of promotional product mailers, magazines, emails, and Facebook posts about the “newest”, “coolest”, or most “innovative” promotional product on the market.  We get these every. . .single. . .day.  Some we immediately delete, pass over or ignore.  These are the items that we have no interest in selling, simply won’t sell, or don’t think we have an audience for.  Every now and then however, we run across some pretty cool stuff.  Those items that we absolutely LOVE and think everyone should love and buy too.  So, here I give you a very subjective account of the five promotional products WE THINK everyone should love. 

1) Lip Balm – who doesn’t love a good lip balm?  Notice I didn’t say Chapstick.  That’s an actual brand name, and it’s waxy.  I said this was subjective (it’s just my opinion), so if you love your Chapstick. . .well go ahead and love it, but contact me for a sample of our organic lip balm and I’m sure you’ll become a convert too.  Lip Balm is a great giveaway for dentists, charity events and schools to name just a few.  It’s an inexpensive way to get your name out there and keep it out there.  I’m farily certain most people hang on to a good lip balm, which increases brand exposure every time it’s used.  What’s even better, there are lots of flavors and they can be wrapped in a full color (ie. fully customizable) label, so whatever marketing message you want on there is fair game.  OH, and there are always sales on overstocked flavors, which reduces the normal cost by about $0.20/ea at the minimum quantity of 250 pieces.  Overstock flavors change all the time, so contact me to find out what they are.

2) Stainless Steel Water Bottles – I’m going to spare you the save the environment talk.  At this point, it just makes sense.  Why buy cases upon cases of bottled water?  Aside from the landfill issue, it’s expensive.  We invested in a Brita water filter and got some of these awesome stainless steel water bottles.  We have several clients order these, and not one of them has been disappointed.  This is personally my absolute FAVORITE promo product, and I simply cannot understand why not everyone wants to buy them.  Lots of different sizes and shapes, and cool new colors coming out all the time.  Low minimums too so an order doesn’t have to break the bank or take up every bit of your storage space.

3) Tee Shirts – I don’t have any statistics or anything, but I’m guessing that the Tee Shirt is probably the most popular promotional product on the market.  I recently came across this great new Bella (for her) & Canvas (for him) shirt that I love love love!  It’s my go to recommendation on tee shirts.  I have a giant box of them sitting behind me as I write this, waiting for the Fusion Fitness logo to be put on them. . .again. . they were so popular they needed to order more.  It’s a 50% poly / 50% cotton blend, lightweight and so soft.  They’ve got a great cut to them and fit both men and women perfectly.  No more boxy look. . . and they’re affordable too! YAY!

 4) Journal Books – I’m a list maker and these are cool.  Quality construction and can be fully customizable with die cut covers, foil, emboss, spot gloss, etc. etc. etc.  The possibilities are endless.  This is the ultimate ”holder on-er” promo product.  Yeah, I just made up a word.  What I  mean it, no one will throw these away.  I went to a trade show in January and there were tables and tables of these things for us to take so that we’d have something to write in.  I’m not gonna say how many we brought home, but let’s just say there’s one in my office, one in my kitchen. . well, you get the idea.

5) Coffee Mugs – yes, back to the drinkware.  We got some of these for our own promotional products.  They’re ceramic mugs with a silicone lid that actually stays put and doesn’t leak!  They are awesome, and they look really good.  There are a lot of coffee drinkers out there, so why aren’t people buying these?  Your guess is as good as mine.

So there you have it.  My top 5 promotional products.  I think they are all awesome and think everyone else should think the same thing.  Agree?  Disagree?  What’s the best promotional product you’ve ever received?