Nova Cadamatre MW, the first female winemaker in the United States of America to achieve the title of Master of Wine, came to CF Napa Brand Design to bring her latest project to life – a small production, Stags Leap District AVA Cabernet Sauvignon. The unique wine brand name Fiadh Ruadh (pronounced Fay-ah Roo-ah), Gaelic for “untamed wild red deer,” symbolizes Nova’s strength, grace, and persistence as a winemaker — which the wine packaging needed to embody. The wine label needed to have a high-fashion edginess as well as maintain an ultra-premium Napa Valley sense of luxury.

From Fiadh Ruadh: “Wild, untamed. For many cultures the deer is a sacred animal symbolizing independence and pride as well as being a guide for spiritual journeys. For our wines, the red deer of Scotland is a symbol of the freedom to express our interpretation of classic regions in a new and exciting way while celebrating the genealogical history of our families. Are you untamable?”

CF Napa Brand Design captured the Fiadh Ruadh brand’s badass ethos through a modern wine label design highlighted by sculpture embossed, gold foil deer skulls and antlers drawn by CF Napa Brand Design. The antlers were given a distressed effect to provide extra textural interest and better mimic the imperfections of bones. These iconic skull and antlers also provided a subtle connection to the wine’s Stags Leap District AVA in the Napa Valley. The illustration was duplicated so that one set of skull and antlers could be viewed straight on when the bottle was turned, but when the brand name faced forward, the two sets intertwined to frame the brand name, vintage, varietal, appellation, and limited-production bottle count. The top of the bottle was left bare without a capsule to show off the unique neck shape of the bottle and complement the rugged, natural vibe of the packaging.