We have long known that a better-looking label or overall packaging on wine sells better. Every time you show two bottles of equivalent price and quality to a customer, the better-looking package sells. Whether it be the great graphic designs from Jim Carey that adorn the Long Shadows wines or Dave Phinney's shatter label, it is an advantage.

Beyond great graphic design work, though, from time to time we see bottles adorned with great art - images sketched, drawn or painted and then converted to the wine label. This is clearly a cost to the winery not only to get the rights to the work of art from the artist, but also to have it converted and approved so it looks great on the bottle as well as meeting the government regulations before the label is approved for sale.

Local artist and art teacher Pam Asher says it best, "Mother Nature and chemistry have merged in a big way, showing beauty, dynamic color and delicate body not only on the inside of the bottle, but on the label as well." We see this more and more, especially in the bottles adorned with Western art. The Mighty Nimble wines from Santa Barbara with labels created by renowned Western artist Bob Coronato from Hulett, Wyo. are truly stunning. Trained in Los Angeles, Coronato focuses on rodeo art and the Old West that he fell in love with from pictures, reflecting that he would like to have lived 100 years ago, he was so drawn to the images of western life.

When winery owner Hilary Graves matched the label with the wine, she nailed it! The Fruit Tramp blend is a rustic Rhone-inspired creation evocative of the same wild and rustic lifestyle of the Old West - one still familiar to those who live in the remote stretches of the West like Hulett, or those hearty souls who ply their trade on the rodeo circuit.

As Pam Asher relates, "We are drawn to art. It captivates us; it stimulates our senses and brings us great enjoyment. So why not appeal to a wine drinker's taste in art or lifestyle by the art on the label representing the wine in the bottle?" As wine consumers, each of us has varying tastes in both art and wine. What is beautiful and elegant to one wine drinker will differ from what is beautiful and elegant to another. That is why we consistently focus on what a wine drinker likes is, and always will be, the most important part of the wine experience. As Pam relates above, at times that will equate to the label art as well - as well it should.

We have worked as wine professionals for a number of years, but before that - and to this day - we are wine consumers and appreciators like you. It evokes emotion and stimulates our senses every time we have it. And when we taste something new or familiar that is really, really good, it can take us back or propel us forward. It can strike a nerve that will return us to great wine country memories or, for some of us, harken to a lifestyle that we crave, just as Bob Cronato's art does for him.

Stop by the shop, or ask your favorite wine professional about some of the bottles emerging with great art on the label in many forms. An enhanced wine experience is what we all want. Great art is certainly a part of it.

Through discussions and written commentary, Pam Asher contributed heavily to this column. We couldn't have put it together without her insights. Pam's art is on display at Art Walk and at several local venues, including the dinner party.

If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have questions on wine, you can email [email protected], 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 has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions; his articles are published around the country and is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene Magazine (www.cdamagazine.com). You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles, as well as other great wine tips, by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.