Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70680
P A CKA GING The Show goes To Music City I f the eye-catching bucking-bronco labels for one of the Three Thieves brands, The Show, are reminiscent of an old poster, there's a reason: The labels were designed by Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tenn., which produces posters for everything from con- certs to sporting events and political rallies. Joel Gott says it was Charles Bieler's fascination with Hatch that brought the Three Thieves to the printing company. "Hatch Show Print is an amazing, old- school and original letterpress print shop, so we started working with them and their art to see what we could use to make wine labels," Gott says. "You'll see their work all over the place, you just don't necessarily know it unless you're familiar with them and the process. They use hand-carved designs for their block prints and then lock it in with what- ever colors you choose." The label design used existing block prints, Gott says. He likes the Hatch designs so much that he has the company create post- ers for the releases of his Joel Gott Wines. —L.D. American Society for Enology and Viticulture 62nd ASEV National Conference Conference Center—Monterey, CA June 20 – 24, 2011 Portola Hotel and Monterey highlights Coastal Vineyards Issues Seminar & Tasting Flash Détente Seminar & Tasting Grapevine Leafroll and Vitivirus Diseases Seminar Merit Award Presentation – Jerry Lohr, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines Innovation Session – Keynote Speaker: Tim Bucher, TastingRoom.com Industry Seminars with Supplier Displays – New Format! Research Reports Wine Reception hosted by the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association JOIN NOW AND SAVE! Member registration fees are up to 50% lower than non-member fees. 44 Wines & Vines MAY 201 1 Visit our website for details. www.asev.org 530-753-3142 sci en ce a platform for progress wine before we ship it. We try to produce the wines in small batches so we can keep the product as consistent as possible, and the consumer will get the freshest wine. We bottle monthly in 10,000-20,000 case runs. We don't have a consume-by date, but a produced-on date that runs across the top of the package. We would like to think that it is all consumed in the first 12 months of its life, but it can go as far as 36 months out before there is a noticeable change. It took us years of learning how to manage production from spoilage to cor- rect shipping, distribution and winemak- ing. It was quite the learning curve. W&V: Although the Bandit wines are in unconventional packaging, the wines sold under The Show, another Three Thieves brand, are in glass bottles closed with a cork. Why go the traditional route with these wines? Gott: We put The Show in traditional glass bottles with a cork because it seemed to fit the brand better. It's a big, bold wine with a big, bold bottle, and that's what we wanted to convey. Whereas the Bandit wines brand is a little more "outside-the-box" thinking—or should I say "inside-the-box?" W&V: You're using the Stelvin closure on your Joel Gott whites. Did using a screw- cap present any winemaking challenges? Gott: We just had to educate ourselves how to properly prepare the wine for using a cap instead of corks. If I prepared the wine the same as for cork, it would have too much sulfur. We also had to figure out the proper headspace because there's no cork. We use Stelvin to retain the freshness of the white wines and for ease of entry. I love when I get white wines that are crisp, acidic and have sweet fruit. Stelvin preserves the freshness for my palate. W&V: Are you considering bag-in-box or kegs for on-premise sales for any of your wines? Gott: I do like them, but I'm not consider- ing any projects right now that I want to share with the press. Charles Bieler has an amazing new keg company called the Gotham Project. They're kegging wine from Chile, Germany, California and upstate New York that are all great quality wines, and they're really making a big impact with keg by-the-glass wines. A resident of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Laurie Daniel has been a journalist for more than 25 years. She has been writing about wine for publi- cations for nearly 15 years and has been a Wines & Vines contributor since 2006.