Shafer Vineyards came to CF Napa to create a bespoke mailer to announce the newest release of their pinnacle wine, Hillside Select.

The Hillside Select story from Shafer’s website: “For decades, Hillside Select has been Shafer’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that is the ultimate culmination of a world-class estate and legendary winemaking. The revered critic Robert Parker called Hillside Select, “… one of the New World’s most profound Cabernets.”

Each vintage of Hillside Select originates from a collection of small vineyard blocks planted on our rugged, amphitheater-like estate of bedrock and volcanic soil. This property’s rare combination of climate and site results in gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, which transforms into a deeply-colored wine with complex aromas and flavors that vintage after vintage are rich, elegant, and exquisitely balanced. Hillside Select’s lineage goes back to Shafer’s first wine, the 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon. By 1983, knowing it was something special, the winery called it Hillside Select.”

The design needed to convey the luxury of the Shafer brand, generate a buzz of excitement over the new vintage, and celebrate the launch of the new wine packaging.

CF Napa created a sophisticated matte black folio debossed with an artistic representation of the Hillside Select vineyard rows utilized on their new package and the Shafer wordmark emblazoned in glossy black foil.
A zip tear strip was incorporated to create a clean and elegant way to open the envelope. The folio reveals individual inserts that include a welcome letter, the story of the new Hillside Select vintage told through the lens of the winemaker and renowned wine critics, and full-color photography of the new wine packaging. The letter from winemaker Elias Fernandez celebrates his 40th year at Shafer and adds a personalized touch.