I want my wines which are not made with locally grown grapes to have completely different names and label designs. This is because I want to preserve Travessia as a locally grown wine brand. So I came up with Trapeze for the Pinot Noir which is my first wine made with non-local grapes.
Once I had a name I went searching for a label image. There’s a lot out on the web but most of it is crap. I was lucky enough to find this image on flickr. I contacted the owner of the image by the name of cereal-killer72. I honestly didn’t have high hopes that I would get a response, but I did. David Alquézar Ventura (pictured) is the cereal-killer72 and he’s from Girona, Catalonia – Spain. He earns his living as an accountant but he’s also a photographer. He's truly passionate about photography and I highly recommend that you check out his work.
I wanted to own the rights to the image for the US wine market and after several email exchanges David and I agreed on a price and terms of agreement. I believe that it was the first time that David actually received some form of compensation for one of his photographs which I’m sure must be exciting for him. We were fair to each other and I have a feeling that we aren't done doing business.
I’m thankful to have landed a kick-ass photo to use for my Pinot Noir label for years to come. It absolutely reflects what I envisioned for the label.
I’ll finish with an interesting quote from one of David’s followers on flickr:
Many people do buy wine by the label, so I’m happy that we also got that covered. But is the wine itself as good as its label? I would love to hear from you.
Why “Trapeze” for the Pinot Noir? It’s become a cliché in recent years but it’s indeed difficult to make good Pinot Noir. The grape presents many challenges to a winemaker. From color stability issues to balancing fruitiness with earthiness. Sometimes Pinot is overly fruity, lacks body and structure; sometimes it's overly earthy and extremely "funky". It’s a balancing act more than with other red wines.
Difficult, balancing act, gentle, elegant… Trapeze!
Once I had a name I went searching for a label image. There’s a lot out on the web but most of it is crap. I was lucky enough to find this image on flickr. I contacted the owner of the image by the name of cereal-killer72. I honestly didn’t have high hopes that I would get a response, but I did. David Alquézar Ventura (pictured) is the cereal-killer72 and he’s from Girona, Catalonia – Spain. He earns his living as an accountant but he’s also a photographer. He's truly passionate about photography and I highly recommend that you check out his work.
I wanted to own the rights to the image for the US wine market and after several email exchanges David and I agreed on a price and terms of agreement. I believe that it was the first time that David actually received some form of compensation for one of his photographs which I’m sure must be exciting for him. We were fair to each other and I have a feeling that we aren't done doing business.
I’m thankful to have landed a kick-ass photo to use for my Pinot Noir label for years to come. It absolutely reflects what I envisioned for the label.
I’ll finish with an interesting quote from one of David’s followers on flickr:
Many people do buy wine by the label, so I’m happy that we also got that covered. But is the wine itself as good as its label? I would love to hear from you.
Thank you so much, Marco
my best wishes for you and your projects.
Posted by: David | January 13, 2010 at 02:36 AM
Great story! Look forward to buying, tasting and seeing it! Good luck and great success!
Posted by: Peter A. Mello | January 13, 2010 at 10:32 AM
Awesome story Marco, its funny how things can just turn out perfect when you really want them to. I am also a big fan of the Trapeze Pinot Noir...LOVE IT!!
Posted by: Derek F | January 15, 2010 at 04:41 PM