Brief: Having found a beautiful wine based in the Kei Puta te Wairau valley in Marlborough, New Zealand. Direct wines wanted a visual presence that broke free from the typical New Zealand Sauvignon.

Solution: Delving into the Maori culture in the area, we found a story based on the relationship between the Earth and the Sky. What better story could encapsulate the cultivation of grapes than this. Our approach created a truly unique design, and one that had pre-sales sold out within 48 hours.

As the Māori legend goes, the world was created by a God and Goddess, Ranginui, the Sky Father and Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother. With a love so fierce they could not be apart, they held each other together within a loving embrace that shrouded the world in a shadow of darkness and leafy vegetation. In time they produced several children, who miserable in these cramped conditions, prised their parents apart. This forced the bright clouded Sky to stand above as a stranger, and the Earth to lie below as a nurturing Mother.

New Zealand has some of the world’s most southerly grape-growing regions, where the vineyards benefit from the moderating effect of the maritime climate. No vineyard is more than 120km from the ocean, with long days and nights cooled by sea breezes and vast amounts of beautiful foliage.

Inspired by its place of origin, this New Zealand wine is centred around the tales of the Māori tribes. Just like the traditional carved body art of its people, the design captures the legend in meticulous detail using striking illustration and sharp black and white contrasts. The label is finished with a raised gloss, like the Māori tattoo markings that raise on the skin, quickly grabbing the attention of those who pass by.