Church Road Winery

THE BACKGROUND

A pioneer of New Zealand’s famous Hawke’s Bay wine industry, Church Road Winery has a distinguished heritage that began with the creation of the country’s first Bordeaux style red wine. Over its 120-year history, the winery has built a global reputation for excellence and now counts a full array of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines amongst its portfolio.

THE BRIEF

For the winery’s 120th anniversary, Church Road wanted to create a limited edition bottling of its famous McDonald Series.
This range was created in homage to Tom McDonald, who is widely revered as the father of French winemaking in New Zealand. His vision and entrepreneurial spirit was the driving force that shaped a winery established in 1897 into the modern day Church Road Winery. The design for the packaging included an innovative bottle sleeve closely resembling a paper bag, printed with inspiration images from the Winery’s history. Church Road were seeking a way to fasten the bag that would evoke the heritage and prestige of the brand. Church Road’s Global Brand Manager, Maxime Zanelli, explained: “Our lead packaging agency Tried & True recommended Signet for the development of a wax seal, as no producer locally (or China based) was able to meet the quality criteria we were looking for.”

THE SOLUTION

Signet produced a custom faux wax seal, double sided and created in a rich red reminiscent of the authentic sealing waxes used in Tom McDonald’s day. The seal was injection moulded onto a luxury black waxed cotton cord, with the lettering finished in gold foil for a rich look. With both free ends of the cord embedded in the seal, a simple loop was created that could be swiftly wrapped around the neck of the bottle bag and the charm then passed through the loop to secure.

THE RESULT

The result is a visually impressive yet informal look that harks back to a time when old-time vintners would wrap their customers’ purchases in paper and string, while retaining the premium feel of the Church Road brand. With incredible shelf appeal, the design really resonated with Church Road’s customer base, garnering a fantastic reaction both on social media and in terms of actual sales.
“We did observe an increase in sales versus the standard bottle, both from a retailer perspective (about twice the rate as our normal sell-in after the 1st month) and from a consumer perspective (+33% sales vs previous month when compared to the same promo price). Of course, the seal itself was just one element of the sleeved packaging, but it definitely helped dial up the premium feel of the limited edition overall. We had a really positive reaction from consumers, and the trade loved it too as it was very unique and newsworthy.
“As a leading brand, it’s important to keep looking at regularly renewing our packaging offering to maintain our share of voice, disrupt on shelf, and push the creative boundaries to excite both trade customers and consumers – limited edition packaging is a great way to achieve this.”