Slouch Hat embodies the wave of relaxation felt after a long day’s work. It is made for the moment you hang up your hat, reach for a glass of wine, relax back into your chair, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

From the brand’s website: “Their founder, Matt Fowler, fell in love with Virginia’s wine country during a road trip with his dad. He took every opportunity to escape from the discipline and structure of the Marine Corps into the hedonism and serenity of the wineries. He dove headfirst into learning everything he could about the art and science of producing the perfect bottle of wine. He stepped off the path leading him to law school to work at a winery, promising himself that he would find a way to have his own vineyard and winery one day. Several years later and a couple of twist and turns, Slouch Hat Wines was born.”

While the former packaging personified this idea with the illustration of a man enjoying a glass of wine under a tree, it was difficult to decipher the image from a distance or on a retail shelf. The architecture of the label created the need to turn the wine bottle clockwise on shelf so the varietal faced front, cutting off the brand name from view.

We completely redrew the dainty, single line illustration as a detailed picture of a wine drinker in a slouch hat sitting under a shaded tree. The custom illustration transformed the label, elevating the brand and providing much stronger shelf presence and brand recognition. Gilded in gold foil, the new image popped against the paper label. The brand name was moved to the right side of the label above the varietal, fixing the communication hierarchy and providing a much quicker read of the brand name. We restructured the brand into two tiers, using a white label for the Core Tier and a black label for the Reserve Tier, allowing the upper tier wines to stand apart and clearly communicate the higher price point.