Customer Reviews

Icon: Art of the Wine Label

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Work from the world's leading wine label artist and designers Jeffrey Caldewey and Chuck House. An intricately produced book incorporating the symbolic language of wine labels, trademark illustration incorporating style with remarkable production elements. The definitive book on wine label art, design and history. Every aspect of wine label design is clearly and thoroughly covered. A beautiful book printed on high quality paper, displaying colourful details and commentaries behind the art of the wine label. The quality of print is so good it's almost as though the original labels have been pasted onto the pages. This book offers to anyone who is fortunate to own it a broadened knowledge on a subject often discussed with little or no knowledge at the dinner table. For many that know much about wines here's an opportunity to learn more about the mystery and allure behind the wine label. I rate this book a '10' on a scale of Ten.

A designers must have! Great inspiration on pushing the envelope in packaging design. Jeffrey Caldewey and Chuck House are the top of their field and it shows in every design. A great gift for the upcoming holidays. Everyone from wine connoisseur to artist will enjoy this book.

By Bill Marsano. This perplexing book is beautifully produced and generously proportioned. The publisher has given his all (not without hope, however, of getting it back--note the price). It's most impressive. So why is it also rather disappointing?

Frankly, it's because we are led to expect too much. Title and subtitle suggest a richly informed and wide-ranging survey of label art from many sources over many decades. In fact the coverage spans just a few years, a few places (nearly 85 percent of the designs are from California) and two designers (Jeffrey Caldewey and Chuck House, who are pre-eminent in their field). And the subject isn't art but label and package design: in short, sales tools. Even the title is a pretentious flim-flam. 'Icon' means either 'sacred image,' which is hardly justified here, or those vulgar little cartoons that offend the eye on computer screens the world around. Surely they didn't mean <that>?

Then revelation comes: Icon is the name of the design firm headed by Caldewey and House. It is hard to escape the conclusion that this is a glorified promotional brochure.

Within those rather severe limitations this is a pretty attractive coffee-table production. Each of the more than 100 wines shown has its own page and is shown in full--the whole 'package,' not just the label. Some are delightful, charming, friendly and fun, notably those of Bonny Doon (whose owner is the famously humorous Randall Grahm), Frog's Leap, Gundlach Bundschu, Honig, Whitehall Lane and (too few) others. Elsewhere, elegance is to be found, as is cutting-edge stylishness--and, unfortunately, other labels that seem prim and merely dignified, as if standing on ceremony.

Each package portrait faces a page with a blessedly brief paragraph of odd facts, high-flown hooey and grammatical lapses (one wonders about the editing here; the first error, although admittedly minor, occurs in the very first line of the introduction). By hooey I mean insider designer prattle like 'the five-sided label . . . represents the five grape varietals used in the blend.' To me, symbolism fails when the designer has to explain it. Especially because this selfsame label clearly lists not five but <four>. Or 'A separate aureate banner proclaims the wine's reserve pedigree.' 'Aureate'? Oh, you mean gold-colored or gold-tone? 'Banner'? Oh, that's the tacky little strip made to resemble, complete with nail holes, the brass title tags found on ancient picture frames. Frankly, a designer still using such old-hat stuff in 2000 has more reason to blush than to boast.

One important point that does come through is that good design isn't simply "dreamt up" but discovered and developed from facts and artifacts specific to each project. A good example is the elegant Lewelling label, inspired by the 19th Century calling card of the winery's founder. Another is Whitehall Lane's, based gloriously on the melted-crayon artwork of the winery owner's three-year-old daughter.

Wine geeks will love this book and so will designers. Ordinary wine-drinkers will enjoy a quick riffle or two but then are likely to leave it on the coffee table and forget about it.--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer on wines, spirits and travel.

This is a great book for any wine enthusiast. It is the ideal coffee table book to have out when your friends stop by. The book is interesting and a great conversation starter. I really enjoyed this book. Of course, it didn't have every wine label I was looking for, but it did contain many of them. This book would make a perfect gift for anyone.

As a lover of wine, fine graphics, a quilter and a librarian by profession, I found Icon to be a fascinating book. Not only were the illustrations beautifully done(the authors must have demanded that their work be produced by a fine printer), but I enjoyed reading about the process these two gentlemen go through in developing a label. As a quilt designer I can see myself employing some of the same techniques in quilt design. And the next time I buy a bottle of wine I will better appreciate the label and the artists who create them for having read this book.This will definitely be on my Christmas gift list for close friends and family who enjoy great art, beautiful books and wine. The perfect gift. Keep up the good work Mr. Caldewey and Mr. House.

Excellent visual storybook depicting the art of the wine label, and in it a reflection of the evolution of the industry as a whole. This is not only an art book, but an introspective revelation of the souls behind this fascinating industry and lifestye. A wonderful journey of escape into a magical world, that also happens to be real.

Jeffrey Caldewey and Chuck House's Icon: Art Of The Wine Label is also a highly recommended, distinguished guide which offers a collection of work by the modern masters of wine label design who have for decades helped define global wine label design strategies around the world. Icon is a collection of some of their best works, providing both an artistic assessment of the art of iconography to examples of 120 wine labels and bottle designs complete with their distinctive branding qualities.

This book was not only interesting to read, the artwork and dedication to all aspects of wine was unbeleivable. This is one I will read over and over again. Ok, maybe I will be just looking at the pictures...

The book is outstanding. It opens your eyes to a world behind wine and design. Using our senses is not something we have to limit to taste, smell and sight of the wine. The bottle, the label and the story behind the winemaking process can be just as interesting. After reading Mr. Marsano's review you are under the impression Icon lacks depth and a true reason for its existence. However, he forgot this is a coffee table book and therefore it is aimed to be fun, require short attention span, entertain, decorate and certainly not demand from you a critic eye to spot the fault on terms like "banner". Icon certainly accomplishes its mission. It is full of interesting details, beautiful photographs, facts and stories completing the magical experience of wine. Sorry Mr. Marsano, your criticism migh be professional, your eyes failed to spot the real meaning of this book.
I am almost certain this is the kind of book that should be kept as an icon(again) of our times. The name is perfect. The book has been carefully crafted, holding a luxury quality that certainly will keep it alive throughout time. The mythological nature of wine and its distinctive power to create a magical environment when we open a bottle is honored through the pages of this book. Buy it now. It might get more expensive in the future.

This book is pure poetry in motion! An amazing collaboration by Jeffrey Caldewey and Chuck House who, according to Robert Mondavi (he wrote the book's forward) are "the acknowledged masters of the modern wine label design". This masterful work of art will elegantly grace my living room coffee table, but is so much more than just another pretty book. Everyone, from wine connoisseurs, art enthusiasts, to students interested in any form of art or genius will absoultely love this book.