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48 WINES&VINES October 2016 BOTTLES &LABELS The judging panel, made up of five wine and design professionals, reviewed bottles and other formats submitted by wineries and industry suppliers such as packaging manu- facturers and designers. Wines & Vines re- ceived 86 entries from wineries and 35 from suppliers. Among the supplier entries, the judges chose winners in the categories of Most Outstanding and Most Innovative. Among the winery entries they selected a winner for the the Most Outstanding cate- gory. Magazine editor Jim Gordon and graphic designer Rebecca Arnn handed out the five awards in a ceremony at the end of the conference. People's Choice winners It was the second year of the packaging awards, and the number of entries quadrupled from the previous year. Attendees were encouraged to look the finalists over and vote for their favorites. More than 200 did so, resulting in People's Choice awards for Most Outstanding Package and Most Innovative Package. The people's choice winners differed from the judges' favorites. It was a packaging confer- ence, so these voters were highly qualified— both interested and knowledgeable about wine packaging. The winner of the Most Outstand- ing Package award was The Wooden Bottle from Wooden Bottle Wine Co. Designed and patented by owner Marcos Oliver, it doesn't just look like wood. (It is not a wood veneer on a glass bottle.) It is a bottle crafted entirely of wood from the rubber trees of Thailand, lined with an FDA-approved, non- toxic product that protects the wine from wood and oxygen infusion. It's branded with a silhouette of an olive tree (Oliver also packages olive oil in a wooden bottle). Originally inspired while working on a freelance design assignment for the Cadillac Escalade, in which he wanted to place inserts into the grille, the wine lover went on a quest to put wine in wood. His motto: "Why Wooden You?" Oliver claims it is the only all-wood wine package. Appropriately, it's sealed with natural wood cork from Amorim. Wooden Bottle Co. produces some 17 different varietals, with grapes mostly sourced from California's North Coast vineyards; the bottles sell for an average of $25. Most of Oliver's wooden bottles are sold direct to consumer (DtC), over the Internet or hand to hand at Southern California tasting events, where Oliver said consumers are often tempted to pilfer the bottles. The all-wood bottles weigh in at 12 ounces (much lighter than typical 16- to 18-ounce glass bottles) and don't break should they fall. The People's Choice award for the Most Innovative package went to One87ml Wine & Cocktails in American Canyon, Calif., de- signed by OGW/France. A single-serve option for off- or on-premise and DtC, it's a PET plas- tic, BPA-free vessel that is 100% recyclable with a guaranteed shelf life of 12 or more months. The makers claim its rim is smooth and glass-like, and headspace contains less than 0.2% oxygen. Judges' picks The winner of the Most Outstanding Package award for winery submissions, a brand called Q&A, "does everything it's supposed to," ac- cording to one judge. "It's informative, interac- tive and factual." The package, which sells for $15 per bottle, was designed by CF Napa for Sebastopol's 44,000-case Rubin Wines. Owner Ron Rubin is currently board president of Sonoma State University, making his interest in wine educa- tion a natural fit. The Q&A brand was built specifically as an entry-level wine geared toward millenni- als, and the California red blend includes Merlot, Ruby Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. The Q&As are literal: Buy a case and you'll see 60 questions and an- swers about wine from around the world on the packaging itself, devised by SSU Wine Business Institute faculty. Another judge reported, "This is a creative, fun, beautifully designed and very functional package. It uses the Q&A, which is easily un- People's Choice for Most Outstanding Package, as decided by votes cast by conference attendees: a 2009 Pinot Noir from Wooden Bottle Wine Co. PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNERS 2016 Winners: Wines & Vines Packaging Design Awards People's Choice for Most Innovative Package, as decided by votes cast by conference attendees: One87 Wine & Cocktails for its new single-serve 187ml wine packaging.