Alpha Crucis

Alpha Crucis is the brightest star in the Southern Cross constellation – an apt name for a new super premium addition to the Australian wine firmament from Chalk Hill wines.

The derivation of the brand name had both classical and historical overtones going back to the early stargazers and we took cues from antiquity, building them into a distinctive label and broader brand iconography. We included classical overtones but adopted a more minimalist, contemporary approach, using subtle ﬁnishing and embellishing techniques as well as a distinctive diecut arc representing ‘the heavens’ to create recognition and a clear point of difference.

The Alpha Crucis brand proved very successful and the label was named the world's best wine label in 2011 by the World Label Awards Association. After being awarded the best in Australia, it then took on and beat the best from Europe, the US, India, Japan and New Zealand in the global final.

Add to this The ‘winemakers’ Series where prominent winemakers from the McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek region ‘interpret’ their own Shiraz from grapes derived from the same block. This presented some unique brand characteristics.

The Winemaker’s Series showcased the individual skills and attitude to their craft of the winemakers. It seemed to us that each wine was really a portrait of the winemaker, each winemaker, each case a gallery.

Our in-house illustrators created portraits of each winemaker in a way that would translate to direct-to-bottle screen printing by Glassprint Solutions.