The New Stormhoek Back Label

November 15th, 2007

Being a wine lover, I can’t help but falling in love with the new Stormhoek wine series.

It so happened when I browsed the net today, I found out from gapingvoid that the Stormhoek wine series have developed new label designs for their wines.  It is so obvious that the back label has caught my eyes and my attention, with the following inspiring tags:

Be Passionate
Love
Dream Big
Be Spontaneous
Celebrate
Change the World or Go Home (tag line for “microsoft”)

stormhoekloveback72dpi.jpg 

The tags immediately take me over, for they all align with my own believes and values, as well as the core values of a newly set up company of me and shine (for a glance of our new company, please read my business partner, shine’s another article: a possible dream). 

The Stormhoek is a South African winery and since mid 2006, this winery has engaged Hugh MacLeod: the professional blogger, cartoonist and author of gapingvoid for marketing (through web 2.0) and design matters and the “sales have gone up fivefold since then”.

The new design of the front label of the wine is also stylish and eye catching.

stormhoekpair72dpi.jpg 

Here is another bottle design created by Hugh for the 2008 Valentine special, lovely and pretty!  I would really love to buy some as our company gifts to our most valuable business partners and clients.

0711shutup.jpg 

To gapingvoid: really thanks for your creative work!   I love it so much!

To shine: you should know what I am thinking of!  Haha!

0710smarterwine.jpg

(wine photos and comic adopted from gapingvoid  and stormhoek)

Grappa

June 28th, 2007

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Starting  this blog with this strong Italian beverage is a mere coincidence, yes or no, it depends. 

For sure I am a wine and beverage lover.  The fragrances and tastes of fruit, wood and flowers preserved by either distillation and fermentation are as precious and artistic as the making of a perfume.  Having a glass of wine and chatting with good friends, should be one of the most enjoyable moments in life.

I enjoy wine and beverages, as much as I enjoy life.  This blog is created for all those who love and enjoy our lives and who appreciate every little beautiful thing in our lives.  Cheers!

Back to this Grappa. I was having my b/d dinner with one of my best friends tonight at the Cammino of the Excelsior Hotel when I saw a tray of Grappa.  The most eye-catching was the serving glasses.  I asked the manager and he told me that the glass was called “Raffinato Piacere”, a tall and slim little glass just looked like a lovely Tulip.  The manager also told me that this berverage was a kind of after dinner drink.  Without second thought, I ordered one Chardonnay Grappa to taste.

This Grappa Chardonnay is no question a very strong beverage, around 40%.  The taste of grape comes after the strong spirit taste.  A kind of berverage quite similar to Brandy, but with a clear body. 

A bit too strong for me, but I really love the Tulip glass. 

Let’s see how Wikipedia tells us something about Grappa:
 

Grappa is a fragrant grape-based pomace brandy of between 40% and 70% alcohol by volume (80 to 140 proof), of Italian origin. Literally “grape stalk”, grappa is made by distilling pomace, grape residue (mainly the skins, but also stems and seeds) left over from winemaking after pressing.
 

It was originally made to prevent waste by using leftovers at the end of the wine season. It quickly became commercialised, mass-produced, and sold worldwide. The flavour of grappa, like that of wine, depends on the type and quality of the grape used as well the specifics of the distillation process.
 

In Italy, grappa is primarily served as a “digestivo” or after dinner drink. Its main purpose was to aid in the digestion of the heavy meals. Grappa may also be added to espresso coffee to create a caffè corretto. Another variation of this is the “ammazza caffè” (literally, “coffee-killer”): the espresso is drunk first, followed by a few ounces of grappa served in its own glass.Among the most well-known producers of grappa are Nonino, Berta, Sibona, Nardini and Jacopo Poli. While these grappas are produced in significant quantities and exported, there are many thousands of smaller local and regional grappas, all with distinct character.

Most grappa is clear, indicating that it is an un-aged distillate, though some may retain very faint pigments from their original fruit pomace. Lately, aged grappas have become more common, and these take on a yellow, or red-brown hue from the barrels in which they are stored.

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