I have said many times that nothing I or any other wine professional says will change a wine from one you like into one you don't or vice versa. Also true that a great label will never turn bad wine into good or make a mediocre wine taste better, however when you combine great wine with great labels, label will sell every time! Whether it be the art on the front of the bottle or a clever story on the back, it enhances your overall experience with the wine and will cause folks to pick similar quality wine at similar prices based on the label alone.

One of our favorite back label designs and stories is on the Writer's Block wines. The wines from this brand are well priced and tasty, and while drinking the wine may contribute to the perceived wittiness of the story on the back check it out the next time you are in your favorite wine shop and enjoy it.

When it comes to the front label and art we have been consistently very impressed with labels designed by Jim Carey out of Seattle. Jim has several labels nominated for best label at the 2011 North Idaho Wine Rodeo, and they run the gamut from elegant to whimsical and adorn some really great wines.

One of the first label projects we became aware of that Jim designed were the Long Shadows group of wines. Long Shadows is a collaborative winery in Walla Walla run by Alan Shoup, who brings the best winemakers from appellations around the globe and sets them up making wine with Washington grapes. The brands within Long Shadows include Sequel, Saggi, Feather, Pedestal and more. The labels Jim designed for Alan and his group clearly fall into the elegant category as do the wines and represent some of the most beautiful packaging we have seen in the wine industry, including his Nine Hats brand that were entered into the 2011 Wine Rodeo.

Jim also did the design work for Airfield Estates Winery from Prosser Washington. The Airfield main label is not only classy but very connected to the story of the winery and its prior use as a training airfield for World War II pilots. The Bombshell series of labels also done by Jim are great fun and are nominated this year for Best Label.

One final note on a label from his design shop is the new label on the Buried Cane wines specifically the Chardonnay, where the branding is carried from bottle all the way to the case box and is quite stunning.

Another set of labels that will be very competitive for the best award this year are those that come from the Zanzibar winery. We found all of the labels to be like fine art that were evocative and represented well the mood the winemaker was attempting to create with each varietal.

While as wine consumers you always want to be consuming wines you like the taste of, exploring and enjoying some of the great design and art work of labels can increase your overall enjoyment. Be sure to check out these and others from some of the great label artists of the Northwest the next time you are wine shopping, and ask your favorite wine professional if the juice will be pleasing too.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. His articles can also be found on the blog at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.